Is “David” (TC Public Relations) going to slay Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide (“Goliath”)? It really doesn’t matter. We are two different types of public relations agencies that cater to different clients. However, today when I went to Ogilvy’s blog 360 Digital Influence, it had not been updated since December 9, 2009, almost one month since the post you are reading. As I was typing this Ragan Communication came out with the article “Do Communication Group Leaders Walk the Walk on Social Media?”
In fairness, they could look at my blog and draw an accurate conclusion that I only blog a few times a month. Why? Because the purpose of my blog is to force me to stay engaged in the media and let clients and prospects know that we have experience in blogging. One of our account executives did Twitter training for a customer and completely turned it around from a dead media to a proactive one for this business. So, while we do it for our clients with great success, I see my blog as a personal exercise in the media that helps me sell our services. While LinkedIn is the network I am most actively engaged in, if someone asks me about Twitter Grader or Twellow, I can share some practical information on what those are about.
However, the PR laugh that Ogilvy does not want to get is when they set themselves up with a blog title that includes the words “Digital Influence” as it becomes as stale as month-old bread.
The public relations industry will always be about reputation management. So when our industry engages in new media, we too need to guard our reputations and encourage our clients to understand if you get into social media to win, you need to play the game.
On a related note, I came across this YouTube media interview about Tiger Woods reputation management after it was damaged last month.
One thing it teaches me is that TC Public Relations reputation needs to be protected whether we are engaged in traditional or new media. I learned a lesson from Ogilvy, I too need to let outsiders see more of what I do and in the most positive light online.
