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If a Story Appears on the Internet and Your Audience Isn’t Listening, Does it Make a Sound?

I came across a recent article in PR Week that got me thinking about target audiences.  News editor Rose Gordon wrote a great piece, citing a recent Commerce Department report revealing that about 40 percent of Americans don't subscribe to high-speed Internet at home, while a staggering 30 percent of Americans don’t use the Internet at all.  In a world where many of us are consumed by mobile devices, social media and other platforms of communication, there is still a large group of people that have yet to join the masses.

Currently, the Obama administration and Congress are trying to bring affordable broadband connections to everyone. They believe universal broadband is an essential component to economic development.  While some people simply do not have the means to afford Internet access, there are still a number of folks out there that just do not see the value of the Internet. As a PR professional, I am constantly trying to stay one step ahead of the next big trend in communication.  Whether it is Twitter, podcasts or blogging, we are continually looking for new ways to include our clients in the conversation.  But what if a core audience is not listening?

There are many ways to learn about a client’s audience.  One that I have found useful is issuing a simple survey at a user or industry conference.  These surveys easily pinpoint the customers that are reading about your client’s area of expertise, and identify the various platforms they are using to get their information. Individuals often get stuck in their social bubble and fail to think about what is important to others. For example, if a client’s target audience is independent software vendors, they may not be as engaged on Twitter as quality management professionals.  Moreover, some audiences might not be utilizing the Internet at all; in which case a traditional print media campaign might work best. 

Ultimately, the biggest takeaway is to identify and know your client’s core audience.  Gordon makes a great point when she states that the findings of the report present a huge opportunity for new services from not-yet-discovered companies or even brand new platforms to change minds that an online community is rewarding in a number of ways. This is a great opportunity for PR professionals, who have been presented with the challenge of devising creative ways to reach every audience.

By Danielle Mandragona

Olympics and Technology Tradeshows: Striking Similarities?

Earlier this month I attended LegalTech New York, one of the largest annual events for legal technology vendors.  While at the event, it occurred to me how similar these tradeshows are to another rather large event taking place this month… The Winter Olympics.  Before you dismiss this comparison as a ludicrous attempt to make industry tradeshows sound sexy, hear me out. 

At the core of it, a tradeshow is an opportunity for technology vendors to pound their chests and tell the rest of the industry how great they are.  Vendors can successfully accomplish this goal through aggressive sales, marketing, PR and networking efforts at these events.  The Olympics provide countries around the world the opportunity to stand out from the rest through athletic competition.  Success in both circumstances is largely dependent on either a vendor or country’s ability to strategically prepare its respective workforces or athletes to represent their group by performing optimally at the event.

PR at industry events is a major aspect of this success for vendors.  It provides them with the rare opportunity to meet with a number of key industry influencers such as reporters, bloggers and analysts, that often play a crucial role in helping validate and communicate their message to the market.  Therefore, just as it’s vital for a country to invest in the preparation of its athletes for the games, it’s also important for technology vendors to invest in PR in their preparation for industry tradeshows. 

While there are no gold medals at these shows (shameless plug: except in the case of CT Summation who won six Gold Law Technology News Awards at LegalTech this year), participants still strive to be the best at what they do.  Even though some may say that there aren’t many similarities between an eDiscovery salesperson and a cross-country skier, it’s undeniable that fundamental parallels exist between the two at these events.

By John Klein

Worked in Tech PR Before? Liked It? Want to Do It Even Better?

Articulate is currently looking to bring someone on board, and we’re not just looking for anyone.  If you want to join our award-winning team, you’ve got to:

• Have 2-4 years experience in B2B technology PR, either at an agency or in-house;
• Know how to leverage social media as an integral part of doing your job as a PR practitioner;
• Already reside in the New York Metropolitan area;
• Have earned a four-year college degree; and
• Prove IN YOUR COVER E-MAIL that you actually reviewed our company Web site, understand what we do and can articulate the value that YOU can bring to our clients and our agency.

Have you got the above?  Then send us a note at [email protected].

The Power of Relationships

Articulate’s vision is “To build relationships with our clients, partners and each other that inspire, enlighten and motivate.”  I have always valued the real relationships I build at work – you know, those professional colleagues who become friends and trusted partners instead of “clients” or “employees.” 

A few months ago, a former client, Charles Gold at DataDirect, a division of Progress Software, e-mailed me to tell me he’d recommended Articulate on an online CMO forum he’s part of.  Someone in the New York area had asked for recommendations for a good tech PR firm.  Now, you’ll note that Charles is a “former” client – we worked with him for more than three years before, upon mutual agreement, he hired one of my most treasured employees.  In fact, April Harned was my first employee, and she wanted to experience what it was like to work in-house vs. at a firm.  That’s right – he hired my #2 AND took his rather sizeable account with him to be handled in-house by this highly competent PR pro.  Hurrumph.

However, I firmly believe that you get what you give.  I cared deeply for both April’s professional interests and for Charles’, and while I certainly don’t condone or want to encourage any of our other clients to do this, I did what I felt was in the best interest of everyone by working out a mutually beneficial solution.

What did I get in return? 

Well, I have an unequivocal reference for Articulate in Charles.  He referred us to FatWire, who’s been a client for four months now and is in one of the most exciting market segments in technology today.  (Another interesting connection to FatWire is that a newly met friend of mine, Herb Siegel, is a former CA pro who happened to work with FatWire’s CEO, Yogesh Gupta, so we had another great reference that made their decision a cinch.)
   
And, because I cared so deeply about my employee’s personal and professional growth, I also earned the right to be the first place she came to when she decided to bring her three years of in-house experience back to the agency world.  April will rejoin us on March 1, bringing to Articulate’s clients not only her award-winning PR skills but also the sizeable social media and sales-support capabilities she developed on the ground at DataDirect.

You get what you give – and I’m very thankful of the relationships with people like Charles and April that make my professional life so interesting, and my personal life so rewarding.

Pretty cool, huh?

By Laura Grimmer

The iPad and My Twitter Epiphany

For the longest time, I did not understand Twitter from a personal perspective.

I have been a participant since about October 2009 because I had been encouraged to join by co-workers who felt that it was really useful. However, I had not yet seen the value in it for me, personally. Yes, we encourage our clients to Tweet for business purposes, but for my personal use I initially thought of Twitter as a forum for individuals to track their daily activities. After joining, I saw that Twitter was used for a lot more, and I started to understand why some people were so crazy about it, but I still had not personally connected with the social media site. That is, until last week.

Last Wednesday morning, like many other tech enthusiasts, I sat at my desk anxiously waiting for 1:00 p.m. EST to roll around so I could finally see the debut of the product that the ever-innovative team at Apple had been keeping from the public for so long. For weeks I had followed the media’s abundant speculation, filled with suggestions of what the new game-changing technology might be called, what it might look like and most importantly, what it might do. It was time for the big reveal.

But, as the live coverage got under way, I quickly lost my patience as I tried to skip around Web sites looking for different perspectives on the new device. Guided by a Google search, I ended up on Twitter, receiving posts exclusively related to the iPad, and my problem was solved.  In fact, with Tweets pouring in by the hundreds every few moments, it was almost overwhelming. I now had seemingly unlimited access to expert commentary, the personal thoughts of others on the topic, links to tons of articles and a place to share my own reflections.

Twitter was soon forced over-capacity by the great flood of iPad commentary, but not before satisfying my curiosity and in turn converting me into a huge Twitter fan. For me, the iPad launch showcased the profound role that Twitter has earned as a primary avenue by which we share and receive information today. As a PR practitioner, I knew the benefit of using it to reach key influencers, analysts and customers.  But I feel somewhat silly for not realizing the personal benefits of it sooner.

If used effectively, Twitter can serve as a great way a company to not only share their message with their target audience and beyond but also keep right on top of those issues affecting their industry. I am now even more excited to use Twitter as a business tool, and more than ever I will encourage my clients to get out there and start Tweeting.

By Bess Hammitt (@besshammitt)