Success in B2B PR in 2011 will in large measure depend on PR practitioners mastering content strategies.

While PR has always been in the content business — think white papers, case studies, speeches, by-lined articles — what has changed today is that companies no longer need to go through gate keepers to publish content.

Anyone today, as the litany goes, can be a publisher. The digitalization of information has made content inexpensive both to create and distribute. Articles, newsletters, ebooks, blogs, e-magazines, videos and podcasts, are all types of content that can fall under the PR umbrella.

Where the rub is going to be as I see it in 2011 will be in developing a strategy around content that coheres with your overall marketing strategy and ultimately gets people eager to learn more. Granted that I am a sample size of one, but I am already buried under a veritable volcano of content. And, I bet you are too. What I need more than anything is smart, quick-read content available on demand. SmartBrief is one company doing a good job at just that. But there is a room for more.

Which brings me to the two buzzwords you’ll hear a lot more about this year: Content Curation and One to One Marketing. Both are not new terms, but technology is now making them a reality. And both make content marketers more effective. Curation refers to collecting (as opposed to creating) content on a subject or subjects and providing quick digests and links. Companies like paper.li, storify, pearltrees, and curatedby are making curation as easy as the click of a button.. One to one marketing, a concept Don Peppers and Martha Rogers popularized in the 1990s has always been the holy grail of marketing. And here too technology especially is making it easier especially thanks to software like bit.ly that tells you who has clicked on a link or applications like Tweet Spinner that tell you who is talking about your subject and has the most influence.

As I see it, it’s now up to B2B PR to seize the content marketing mantle, and integrate that with an overall PR and marketing strategy, that helps expand your thought leadership and reputation.

How do you plan to improve your B2B PR in 2011? I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

A version of this post originally appeared on FastCompany.com

Have you created a personal brand for your company?

We’re so busy creating our own brands — our own monikers — that too often our company brands take a backseat. We forget that a business, especially a B2B firm, requires a personal brand. Personal branding is all about polishing your reputation.  It’s the difference between being n unknown vs. being a recognized.  The same concept applies to a business-to-business company. Think about it this way. Do you to wake up in the morning and say, I need to get the latest process software for my company? Of course not.  But you might say, I need to buy an iphone for my son.  That’s because a B2B product/service doesn’t have the instant gratification of many consumer products. You buy it because you need it, not because you want it. And you’re often buying relationships and credibility.

For that reason, before you make a B2B purchase, you want to know about the person you’re buying from. Fact sheets, white papers, case studies, articles and ebooks can  influence your buying decision and distinguish one company from another. All of which leads to the importance of a Business Personal Brand for a B2B company–the triggers that will encourage you to buy from one company over another.

To help our clients define their Business Personal Brand, we typically begin with a messaging workshop, a two- to three-hour session to help them better position themselves and spell out what’s special about what they’re doing and why anyone should care.

In the workshop, we focus on 4 questions, what we call the 4Ws. Who are you? What do your prospects want to hear? Who is your audience? What makes you special? Answering those questions helps tease out what makes the client different and how it adds value. You need to do it, however, in a way that makes someone want to sit up and pay attention. It’s the difference between saying, “I make widgets to saying “I make widgets that make our customers lives safer.” One is factual; the other adds value. Once you define your key messages in a messaging workshop-type exercise, you need to insure that all your marketing collateral speaks to these messages so you’re amplifying your voice. There’s nothing worse than having one part of your company emphasize certain features and benefits and another part have a totally different message. All you end up doing is confusing the customer.

Once your marketing materials are in place, you’re ready to get the word out. Today that means becoming in a sense a publisher. We’re talking white papers, ebooks, case studies, and any and all content that makes what you do and your industry more accessible to your audience. One can cross-promote the other and together establish a crescendo of influence. Do all of this and I guarantee you will have a company personal brand that people care about. What are you doing to provide a business personal brand?

WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT BUILDING A PERSONAL BRAND FOR YOUR COMPANY? Check out our interview on Webmaster Radio.

This post originally ran in a little different form on FastCompany.com

Social media and the Internet have forever changed the nature of PR and marketing.  One results is that B2B companies have so many more opportunities to get their clients visible.  Here are 10 Tips on How B2B Companies Can Get Noticed in a Web 2.0 World.  I  also recently spoke on this topic recently at Women Who Launch Southwestern Connecticut.

Tip #1. Tell a great story.  The biggest scarcity of the 21^st century is attention, according to Less Hinton, publisher and CEO of the Wall Street Journal via Sree Sreenivasan, dean of students at Columbia’s J-School.  To break through the attention wall, You need to create content and information that engages.  A lot of this has to do with positioning.  For example, you can say that you’re a writer, or alternatively you can issue a call to arms to marketers to eliminate gobbledygook from their copy, as David Meerhman Scott did awhile back to much fanfare.

Tip #2. Be the expert. You don’t have to have a Ph.d, you just know a little more than the average Joe or Jane Q Public. And I bet in your subject area you do. A warning : Don’t Be Mr. or Ms. No it All but a knowledgeable person who listens as well as shares information.

Tip #3. Be a social media maven. Learn what Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn – the social media heavyweights – can do for your business. Think relationship building, not sales

Tip #4. Journalists are allies, not friends. Member of the media have their own agenda and rest assured that it is not your agenda. Prepare your key messages ahead of time. Don’t say anything in an interview you don’t want to read about tomorrow – or in the case of online media – forever.

Tip #5. Rumors of the press releases’ death are greatly exaggerated. A well-written press release still has impact; it’s just that its purpose has evolved. It’s no longer just geared to the media but also written for search-engine optimization visibility. As a general rule, if you’re targeting bloggers, Tight is Right. For general consumption, Keep it simple.

Tip#6. Make the press release pay off. Use a targeted media list.  Be sure to include keywords people are likely to search on. (Use Google Adwords ).  Punch up key points.

Tip #7. Take advantage of low-cost PR services. Use free or low-cost PR distribution services like Pitchengine, PR Leap and PR Web.  Use help a reporter out (HARA) a free service that connects reporters with experts.

Tip  #8. Treat the media as your client. Give a media person everything he or shee needs to write his/her story. Be available and accessible.

Tip  # 9. There is no substitute for face time. Speak at conferences. Do a media greet and meet. Be sure not to abuse the media person’s time but provide some useful information.

Tip #10. Other techniques to raise your profile. Create a Google profile. Write a blog. Comment on articles. Seek out industry awards. Get listed in business directories

Do some or all of these tips and I guarantee you will increase the visibility of your B2B company. What tips have you found increase your company’s visibility? I’d love to hear from you.

This article previously appeared in a slightly different form on FastCompany.com

We’re undergoing a seismic change in public relations. Thanks to being handed the keys to the digital kingdom, we now can speak on a global stage – and to be heard, engage and create a dialogue with an unheard of number of people.

This “all the worlds’ a stage” era of course is terrific. But there’s a wee problem with it. Many of us aren’t taking advantage of it.

The easiest, and to our thinking, smartest way to promote yourself is to create content.  The buzzword these days in B2B PR and marketing circles is content marketing. And while a colossal amount has been written about it thanks to the great folks at Junta42, among others, the message hasn’t yet filtered down to the average everyday business. At least that’s our experience.

The businesses we talk to are so enmeshed in their work (as they should be) that they don’t always do a good job articulating who they are and what they know.

It’s the difference between someone saying, “I make widgets,” and another person saying “I am transforming the way consumers experience advertising.” One is factual. The other is image-building.

Thinking about your B2B business in thought leadership terms, changes the terms of the debate. You’re no longer selling just the best widget or widget service but suddenly you have you have the means to be an authority in your field and related fields.

Here’s an example. A company we work with sells a special type of insurance for small business. Instead of just being an insurance company in the small business space, they are positioning themselves to be experts in the small business financial space. That gives them a wide enough platform to express issues of interest to their small business target market without diminishing their own insurance message.

It may sound paradoxical at first, but to be successful, B2B marketers, companies need to stop talking so much about themselves (and ultimately to themselves) to become centers of influence. To do that, a company needs to create content that resounds with its audience and helps them to engage. Here are 8 tips to doing that. And by all means, add your own ideas to the list.

What do you do to turn a business into a thought leader? I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas.

Can you publish your way to success?

It’s become an axiom of social media that everyone today is a publisher. That’s the good news. Wanna know the bad news? Everyone today is a publisher.

The problem is that because content has become so cheap and easy to produce, much of it is worthless. Not to mention that no one has the time or inclination to read most of it.

Of course, everyone talks about creating remarkable content, but unfortunately most of us don’t have the talent to create that. And even if we do, there’s no guarantee anyone will read it.

Enter Public Relations and its role in content marketing, the subject of an article I wrote for the Content Marketing Institute.

As I note in the article, “In my experience, adding a PR component to your content marketing adds a powerful incentive that expands your reach, thought leadership and the power of your brand. Better yet, done right it can ultimately lead to sales.”

Click here to learn about how two companies are doing just that.

How are you using content marketing in your PR efforts? I’d love to hear from you.

I recently blogged about a test I conducted on Twitter to see how social media savvy big-name consulting companies are faring. Companies like McKinsey and Accenture position themselves as global leaders so you’d think they’d be out in front in social media.

Or at least my little test showed that some of these big fellas have little ears when it comes to listening and reacting on Twitter.

Please click here to read more

I recent read The Last Lecture Randy Pausch. If you haven’t read it yet, grab it. Pausch wrote it with the help of Wall Street Journal reporter Jeffrey Zaslow shortly before he died of pancreatic cancer on July 25, 2008. It was his way of summing up his life and leaving something to his children.

Rather than talking about his cancer, the book is a meditation on life and has a lot of lessons for us about the art of living. Pausch is particularly astute on how to live out your dreams, seize the moment and be a leader.

I was thinking about all of this in light of the BP disaster where to date there has been a crying lack of leadership and plain communication.

Pausch aptly titles one chapter: “Tell the Truth.” He says, “If I could only give three words of advice, these would be “Tell the truth. If I got three more words, I’d add  ‘All the time.’”

That is not only a good principle for living but for companies. As author and PR consultant Alan Caruba recently wrote, “The worst kind of PR person is the one who is so eager to “spin” the story they forget that telling lies always, always, always comes back to bite them and their client.”

The fact is you don’t get away with lying over the long-haul. Not to mention the ethical and moral dilemmas.

Pasuch also reminds us of the importance of apologizing. I love the way he puts it. “Apologies are not pass/fail…When giving an apology, any performance lower than an A really doesn’t cut it.”

I’m sure like me you’ve gotten half-baked apologies that somehow ended up making you feel worse  than before the apology. BP and company, as well as the rest of us could learn a lot by adopting Pasuch’s three-part apology strategy.

• Acknowledge that what you did was wrong.
• Acknowledge that you feel bad about the hurt/problem you caused. At minimum in lying you injured someone by not respecting them enough to tell the truth.
• Ask how to make it better. What can you do to correct the problem?

(Full Disclosure:  I recently tried this with my husband and it worked like a charm.)

Some other Paushisms:

• “There is more than one way to measure profits and losses. On every level, institutions can and should have a heart.”
• “Rights come with responsibilities….When we’re connected to others, we become better people.”
• “Ask those questions. Just ask them. More often than you’d suspect, the answer you’ll get is, ‘Sure.’”

What are some lessons in life you’ve learned that apply to business? I’d love to hear from you.

While we’re accustomed to think of this as the Age of Conversation (and a special shout out to blogger Valeria Maltoni for helping popularize the concept).  it is a mistake to think of a media interview as a conversation. Sure, you want to be pleasant and friendly, but make no mistake about it:  a media person/blogger has one set of objectives and it’s unlikely they are your objectives.

The media person wants to get a story. And typically the story diverges from the one you or your company want told.  And then there are biases. Traditional media in fairness tries to present both sides of the story.

Remember that the classical definition of a story includes a protagonist and an antagonist.  The clash of the two is what makes drama.  A good media person in telling a story wants to recreate that conflict. It more accurately represents the multidimensional truth and makes better copy. Warm and fuzzy typically means boring.

All of which means you need to be aware when you talk to the media not just of your side of the story, but of the entire story. Is there any negative slant to what you do? Any opponent who can claim to do what you do better? Anyone who can question the validity of your work? Now obviously you don’t want to bring to light any negativity. But be sure you put your best foot forward so that any possible attack is proactively defended against.

That is you need to think like a strategist…or a savvy politician.

Let me give you an example. Let’s say you’re in a manufacturing business where some chemical concerns might arise. The best way to deal with this is to clearly explain what you’re doing and why it’s valuable – the positive story while quelling any nascent concerns. You don’t want to dwell on any possible negative backstory; however, you want to be sure your side of the story gets told.  That means mentioning the extraordinary quality control you use or other validating points to insure your meeting or exceeding all safety requirements in order to deliver this very needed product.  You don’t want to belabor the point and look defensive but simply state the facts. Obviously, if a media person comes back to the issue, you’ll want to go into greater detail. But in the meantime you want to hone in on the value you’re providing.

Here is a checklist of 4 things to think about when talking to a media person/blogger:

• Be prepared. Know your talking points ahead of time.
• Have a clear message. Don’t be afraid to think like a politician. Have clear points you want to get across and repeat them several times.
• Visualize the entire story. Realize where the story may head and be prepared for all possible angles.
• Be helpful.  Don’t try to fudge a story. Provide facts, figures and material the writer can actually use.

Can PR help Richard Blumenthal?

The Connecticut attorney general who had an image as Mr. Clean suddenly has been uncovered as a truth-shader, having made it appear he served in Vietnam when it turns out he was safely ensconsed in the United States.

Those of course are two big No-Noes – Dishonesty and taking credit for something he didn’t do.

So what would a PR person advise?

Not a helluva lot other than what any person with a little common sense and decency would have told him to do.

That is to apologize to the veterans who did serve for creating a misperception that he served in Vietnam and expressing his utmost respect for those who did serve. And then move on with the issues.

That would have stopped veterans’ groups from lambasting him and helped move the conversation.

That’s Ethics 101. It’s also smart PR.

Instead of apologizing, however, he said he “misspoke,” a statement on the order of “I never had sex with that woman.”

I think sometimes people mistakenly think that PR is a magical wand that can instantly change someone’s persona.  Yes, PR is about image, and messaging and relationship building. And, yes, you can change the way you’re perceived up to a point. But that’s an important distinction.

No PR machine in the world can restore someone’s good name and reputation in one fell swoop.  Plant all the veterans you want around him, get other political bigwigs to announce their support and it’s all just a band aid.  However, honesty can go a long way in at least making a politician look a little more courageous and honorable — and help turn the tide. I know we’re not accustomed to saying those two adjectives in the same breath as the word “politician” but maybe if we were we’d be a lot better off.

It’s no different for a company. Remember the Jet Blue mess a few years ago when passengers were left stranded on planes for hour.  Jet Blue stepped up the plate and took responsibility. Its  CEO issued a video apology, the company ran apologies in major papers and issued a Consumers Bill of Rights. The company righted its reputation and won plaudits for its actions.

Now, of course, the Jet Blue responses are all PR responses. However, someone at the top of the company had to make the decision to right the course. And to realize that the honorable action was the right business decision.

Why can’t politicians and their handlers make the same calculus?

Whether the voters in the state of Connecticut will excuse his behavior and elect him is anyone’s guess. Just don’t expect PR to bail him out. Only he can do that.

If I were in the funeral business, I’d be making a killing (pun intended) burying the poor , maligned PR business given how many times the question has been raised: “Is PR Dead?”

The latest evidence is a great discussion going on in LinkedIn started by Rick Vargas, who asked: “Social Networking: Is the death of Public Relations on the Horizon?”

Most of the commentators have rightly answered the question in the negative, saying that social media in fact has reinvigorated PR and emphasizing that PR was never just about media relations.

I think the fact that this question has gotten raised so often in the last few years has to do with a fundamental misunderstanding of PR. And, perhaps, we as PR professionals have no one but ourselves to blame for this.

Ask the average business person what PR is and I bet the person will say it’s all about doing press releases. And while PR professionals still do press releases – to get an idea of the seemingly bottomless pit of them check out prnewswire.com or buseinsswire.com – that is only a small part of what PR does. As a number of the commentators on LinkedIn also indicated, it doesn’t require tremendous brain power to write a passing press release (though it does take some training to write one that is readable!).

Where PR professionals can raise the bar is when it comes to setting the overall messaging strategy for a company. While marketing should lead the charge, PR needs to be a key part of the process, helping craft messages to they resonate for media, bloggers and the average client.

PR professionals will then translate the messaging into key tactics of content creation and relationship building.

PR’s evolution is a natural extension of the changing purchase funnel. Much has been written about the fact that the traditional purchase funnel of Attention, Interest, Desire and Action is no longer applicable. Online search has changed the funnel making it more of a loop than a funnel as consumers consider more brands as they get closer to making a purchase.

Here is where PR can add tremendous value by providing the proper messaging for this extended consideration stage and by finding new ways to engage and relate to prospects.

Below are three ways PR can be even more useful during this expanded consideration phase – with a special shout out to an especially useful blog post by Heidi Cohen on ClickZ.

1. Provide “Content at a Glance.” Prospects when they’re first getting started what easily accessible information. PR professionals and their ilk can create FQS, introductory videos, enewsletters, blog posts, tweets – and yes, press releases.
2. Provide “Hardcore Content.” Prospects as they dig deeper want more engaging content. PR professionals can create articles, white papers, thought leadership videos, case studies, testimonials and demos.
3. Provide Post-Sales Confirmation Content. After the sale, PR professionals can instill further customer loyalty by continuing to provide engaging content that educates and adds value. Companies like Vocus and BusinessWire in the PR space, for example, are good about providing continuing educational webinars for their customers.