PR and the Web 3.0 Revolution: “You Haven’t Seen Anything Yet”

Bulldog Reporter Media Relations June 28, 2010

Kevin McFall, VP, Global Product Management

Introduction► Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and the 24/7 news cycle have already

changed communications and public relations in fundamental ways.

► Social media is just the start of the transition away from “push”-based, one-way communications to a world of fully interactive, conversational, collaborative engagement between professional communicators and the media.

► This new world – enabled by “Web 3.0” – will combine semantic technologies with a new generation of collaborative software applications that will empower communicators to change the way they work becoming even more efficient in their ability to source and target than they have already.

You’ll learn how…► The semantic web will enable anyone to “discover” a

greater number of experts and related opportunities on nearly any topic.

► Crowd sourcing applications will allow reporters to get their finger on the pulse of an emerging story through a virtual gathering of all who are involved, as the news is happening.

► PR professionals will collaborate with journalists on virtual platforms where information, influencers, story ideas and sources of knowledge all converge.

Technologies

Semantic Web► Contextual search and natural language queries will

enable you to ask intelligent questions and get accurate, intelligent responses in real time.

► Discovery of targeted as well as new insights becomes easier

► It will increase the knowledge and IQ level of conversations between media and PR people.

► Those who leverage the semantic tools will be smarter, faster and more productive.

Collaboration/Conversation Platforms► First there were Twitter, Facebook and other social

platforms. ► Now in PR and media we are seeing similar more

specialized platforms and more applications are focused exclusively on enabling productive conversations between journalists and PR people.

► One-to-one engagement becomes the cornerstone of not only media relations but direct to consumer as well

Database► Media contact databases are getting bigger but they

are also getting better. ► Today you can learn nearly anything you need to know

about a journalist who may be interested in your story. ► With the right kind of information about media who

should be interested in your story, you can do less pitching, create more productive and positive media relationships, and get better results.

► You can only do this with a good, complete database that’s updated constantly and available to you 24 by 7.

Real-Time Monitoring► In the past, counting clips was never enough, you

actually had to read them to understand the sentiment involved.

► Semantic technologies can automate that process, do it in real time, and apply it not just to print media but also to broadcast, and various online media including blogs and other social media conversations.

Measurement and Analysis► By monitoring and reporting positive, negative and

neutral conversations and coverage about your story or brand, it is possible to quantify the impact of your investments in media relations and PR programs more accurately than ever before.

► A process that once took hundreds of hours of work and provided only a report on past performance can now be automated and presented in real time, providing convincing proof of return-on-investment on a daily basis.

BenefitsImagine a world where the “us versus them” relationship between PR and media is a thing of the past. The new technologies are bringing that world about by fundamentally changing the relationship between the two. They are also making it possible to quantify the benefits of this more productive relationship.

Instant Experts► Semantic search will make it faster and easier to get

up to speed and become an expert in your field and to stay current.

► PR people will do their homework quickly and be more useful sources of information to journalists; journalists get all the background they need for stories right away and know exactly who they want to talk to.

Conversation and Relationships► By creating a productive dialogue between PR people

and media, rather than the old “push” world of pitching stories, the new technologies will diminish the contention and the two sides will build more productive and positive relationships than ever.

Sourcing, Targeting, and Discovery► Databases enabling you to find the right journalists to

have conversations with will enable PR people to develop the right relationships more quickly.

► No more “spray and pray”: you will find the journalists who really need to hear your story and stop wasting time bothering those who don’t want or need to hear from you.

► Enabled to gain new insights above and beyond the initially targeted knowledge.

Productivity► Journalists have to post more stories a day online than

they ever did in the print world, and they have fewer resources to back them up.

► PR people are under more pressure than ever before to deliver more results per hour.

► The new technologies are making it possible to improve everyone’s overall efficiency.

ROI► The new measurement tools can get us to the Holy

Grail of showing that PR provides as big or bigger a return on investment than any other marketing activity.

ConclusionNew, semantic “Web 3.0” technologies will make us all faster, smarter, and more productive just when we need it. PR has an opportunity to demonstrate real ROI from media relations. More important, the new technologies will improve the relationship between PR people and journalists, a win-win for everyone.

PR and the Web 3.0 Revolution: “You Haven’t Seen Anything Yet”

Questions?Kevin McFall, VP, Global Product Management