TECH PR / THE SOCIAL WEB / BRANDED CONTENT

MEGAComm ConferenceTel Aviv - 20 February 2011

WHO’S IN THE ROOM?

• Asking for five volunteers to introduce themselves.... one minute each....

• what do you do?

• challenges you are facing?

DURING THE DISCUSSION...

• Ask questions

• Tweet us up

•@alanweinkrantz - let’s follow each other :)

• #MEGAComm2011

PURPOSE

• Learn, share, network with your peers

• Realize you are not alone in the challenges you may face

• Apply what we share today and take a few steps in a new direction, particularly in the area of branded content

• Demystify and disrupt your communications mindsets

• Avoid the possibility of being disrupted in your role a a tech writer

CAVEAT

• Presentation is based on experience and belief sets of where things are going forward

• I try things out and like to experiment

• Not everything I do & how to help clients works, but the barriers to entry and experimenting are nil - other than time

ABOUT...

• PR guy for 25 years

• Variety of Israeli tech companies for 15 years

• “Social Media” for the last 6 years

• Shifting to Branded Content

•Work with Jeff Pulver on Sponsorships for #140Conf events

WAVES OF INNOVATION

• PCs based on 8088 / 286 / 386 / 486

• The networked PC

• Early Internet Cafes

• The cell phone and related data services

•WiFi

• Computer / network / application security

WAVES OF INNOVATION

• IP Communications & Entertainment

• Tablet / Mobile PCs - mobile platforms

• The wired home network -G.hn standard

• Disruptive Communications

Sampling of Israeli Tech Companies Represented

Sponsors

YESTERDAY VS. TODAY

• The media was the gateway to telling your story

• The barriers to having access to the media required a traditional PR firm or having “contacts”

• You had to have a big budget to produce quality content

REALITIES

• Everyone has access to your news

• You don’t need a PR firm

• Your being in Israel should not deter you from being successful

• If you are a technical writer, you stand an increasing possibility of being disrupted by outsourced suppliers who can produce at dramatically lower pricing

TODAY...

•Marcom / Marketing: become more valuable to your team and disrupt your competitors

• Technical Writers - elevate your role and consider expanding your sphere into the art of story telling

SPECIFIC TO ISRAEL

• Engineering driven culture

•Marketing is often an after-thought

• Particularly to core tech suppliers.... belief set is that with only 25 core customers in the world, you don’t need “marketing”

SPECIFIC TO ISRAEL

•OEMs providing core technology to major brands

• Innovators and disruptors

TODAY....

• Tech PR

• Social Media

• Branded Content

first and foremost, start thinking of your organization as a

media company

BUT I’M IN ISRAEL...

•Other than having the ability to interface with a journalist in real time, geography no longer matters.

BASICS OF PR

•Message

• Interesting news

• Consistent outreach

• Tie your branded content to becoming a trusted source for media coverage

PR...

• Today, covering the very basics....

• Think about new ways to pitch

TYPES OF COVERAGE

• Hard News

• Breaking / Trends News

• Collaborative / Joint News

• Sourced News

• Populated Content from Businesswire

• Contributed Content by your CTO

HOW TO PITCH?

• Build a list

• ask your customers and partners what they read

• ask your sales people what your customers read

MESSAGE

• Establish 3 key messages and use them in everything you produce

• Be concise and easy to understand

•Make your message core to all press / collateral / online content

• All company execs should be on the same message

CONSISTENT OUTREACH

• If someone turns you down, it’s really ok.

• Instead of selling your story, be a trusted source of expertise

INTERESTING NEWS

• “Interesting” is a matter of definition...

•Make sure your news is relevant and if possible, breaking

core technology

IT / Vertical Media & Analysts

tech

emerging

mainstream

Tiered Media Strategy for 2011

Business Media

Mainstream Media

A Thought Leadership Approach to Tech PR

NEW WAYS TO PITCH...

• Comment / observe articles via social profiles such as Twitter

• Have a commenting strategy in place

• Use platforms such as

• YouTube

• SlideShare

• Flickr

you’re a media company

www.helpareorter.com

www.helpareporter.com

Via HARO

Via.... LinkedIn

CIOComputerworld

eWeekInfoWorld

InformationWeekNetworkWorld

SC Magazine

BusinessWeekCNBCFortuneForbes

NYTimesWSJ

IT MEDIABusiness Media

Consumer Media

USA TodayWired

Sample Media - current and where we could try to broaden coverage

Blogs

EngadgetGigaOMGizmodo

ThreatLevel

BRANDED CONTENT....

• Biggest shift I am seeing:

• Content about / around your brand

• Story telling with emphasis on social conversation

A BODY OF WORK

• Previous news releases

• Previous media coverage

• SEO on key terms

• Company or individual Blog(s)

• Videos

• Social Media presence

on- going outreach and persistent

presence increases opportunities for

coverage

static

Web Site

Brochures

Press Releases

active

Trade Show Booth

VS.

Go wide and deep

You Company Technology

Facebook

Twitter

BlogArticle

submissions

Digg

YouTube

Comment on other blogs

LinkedIn

SlideShare

Docstoc

Slideshare

delicious

SOCIAL MEDIA

• Listen first. Then pitch.

•Many traditional journalists are also bloggers

• Have a commenting strategy in place... it’s a great way to be found and discovered

BIG SHIFTS

• From pure pitching to sharing and having your content being found

• The art of curating content

• Having your CTO, Tech Support and R&D team become the new marketing department

Doubletree - Hilton

Z-Wave Alliance

Redbone Guitar Builds Global Online Business

ALAN’S RULES :)

• Have a focused and current message

• Have an up to date and easy to download press room

•Write to, and for your targeted audiences

• Give yourself six months to see this bear fruit

• Focus on a few wins... manage expectations

• Engage your management

study. work hard. have fun.

start storytelling

stream your

narrative

build a following and new deal flow will come

your way

how: > ?

converse

interface

broadcast

inform

share

spread you ideas

give away as much information about you as you can

The Social Web

If you populate the social web with great and relevant content about yourself, you’ll be found, and it will serve its purpose in whatever you want to do after you graduate from Trinity

How I’ve used the power of social web to get media coverage, gain credibility and

demonstrate thought leadership as a pro-active consumer of AT&T’s three screen

service offering

trade business/financial broadcast radio

YouTube -great way to pitch the media

Industry leaders demonstrate

N-trig technology

Re-purposing content...

Industry leaders demonstrate N-trig applications & product

differentiation

How To: How I watch Internet TV - U-verse and Internet TV

PRESENTATION

• online - www.alanweinkrantz.com

• www.slideshare.net/alanweinkrantz

• copy and share with others

• this is what I believe and seems to work

• your mileage may vary

CONCLUSION

• Be a media company

• Think like a journalist

• Help grow your industry and be a trusted source in the space

• Stop selling and start story telling

REALITIES

• Culture

•Where to start

• listen

• follow

• engage

CONTACT

• Alan Weinkrantz

• alan@weinkrantz.com

• Twitter : @alanweinkrantz

• Facebook & LinkedIn

google.com/profiles/alanweinkrantz

THANK YOU

• please share :)