Back in college, my sorority had a rule when we were voting in new members: anyone who used the word “nice” to describe a rush candidate got sprayed with a Super Soaker.
Yeah, it’s weird. But we never made the mistake of voting in women just because they were nice. That’s the point.
It amazes me how many PR and marketing professionals talk about the importance of conversation – that numbers and fans and followers don’t matter, and that’s it’s actually about building relationships. I don’t disagree with them. The part I disagree with is the conversations they seem to want.
The conversations most people want are the ones where you nod your head in sheep-like agreement, write a comment like “Wow, that’s amazing!” and generally participate in the virtual circle jerk.
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I read a post by beauty blogger Krizia on Problogger today who feels that PR people are getting pushier with bloggers due to the recession. The post left me with two questions: 1) Are PR people really getting pushier? and 2) Is it really the recession that could be causing this?
To address the first question, what are PR people’s expectations, and are we as bloggers meeting them? The factors I see here are:
- Do bloggers review products in a timely manner? The beauty blogger said she tests products for 2-3 weeks before reviewing them. In my experience, publicists send me follow up emails only days after I’ve received the book, asking when the review will be up. As a blogger, I need more time to read the book (because, you know, I actually do read it before recommending it). Are these timelines acceptable to PR professionals? Do they compare to traditional media timelines?
- Do bloggers say the right things in the review? Do PR professionals expect to see a review no matter what, even if the review is lukewarm or bad?
- What success indicators do PR professionals want to see? Comments, page views, social media mentions? Are we as bloggers communicating this information back to PR professionals?
For the second question, my intuition is that the “pushiness” is not due to the recession at all. Here are some other reasons PR professionals might come across as pushy:
- Bloggers don’t respond like traditional media - I’ve written before about the reasons that traditional media outreach is vastly different from blogger outreach. The main gist is that bloggers often have different goals than traditional media, so the incentives are different.
- Bloggers are getting greedy – It seems like every blogger wants a sponsorship deal these days. Whatever happened to blogging about things you like, as opposed to blogging about things so you can make money from them? The world of blogging sponsorships is about as fragmented as you can get, so it’s hard for companies to discern 1) who should get sponsorships and 2) what those bloggers should be paid.
- Bloggers are not a sure thing – I know many bloggers who say, “Send me a sample, if I like it I will write about it.” This partly due to the idea of disclosure, and it’s partly due to the idea of trust, and it’s partly due to the fact that bloggers have limited time and resources compared to traditional media. But if a company isn’t even going to get a mention from a blogger, why should they send the products? It’s a business, not a charity.
- Bloggers can’t deliver on ROI – PR people are extremely pressured to show return on investment these days. Even sending a book to review costs at least $5 – from an author’s perspective then, the blogger must be able to sell at least 5 books to see an acceptable ROI.
- Bloggers are numerous – It’s too easy to start a blog these days. While it’s not easy to build a community, it’s certainly not as hard as say, building a newspaper or a magazine. This means there are a lot of bloggers out there with a couple thousand subscribers who could get traction for a product. A company has to eventually ask, “If I keep giving my product away to anyone with a blog, who will actually buy it?”
What do you think?
- PR professionals, are bloggers meeting your expectations? Are bloggers producing the results you need to get the job done on behalf of your clients?
- Bloggers, are PR people getting pushier in your experience?
- How can we improve relationships between PR professionals and bloggers?
Over 70% of people get a job from networking. As a entrepreneur, you technically already have a job; but you will inevitably go to informational/networking meetings to sell an idea, convince clients to hire you, or secure funding. Here’s how to get started:
Action Item #1: Land the meeting
It’s not easy, but I get meetings with many CEOs and other executives in the Chicago area. When people ask me how, I tell them it’s a fairly basic process – I email people and convince them to meet with me. If I’m trying to reach the CEO, I sometimes schedule a call with one of his direct reports first. I sometimes send a couple of follow-up emails. I sometimes ask other people in my network for referrals.
Be persistent. There are many ways to ask for something, but the key to getting it is almost always persistence. Everyone calls once, some call twice, but the people who land the meetings are the ones who called for as long as it took.
Action Item #2: Ace the meeting
It is not as difficult as you would think to research a company or a person thanks to Google. I research all sorts of things, from industry statistics, to competitors, to website statistics, to hobbies of the person I’m meeting. I also read through press releases and media coverage (all found on the internet) to understand the history of the company, the pain points, and what the management team cares about. If you do your research beforehand, you can make a good impression at the meeting.
Based on your research, you should know how much you can actually contribute to the networking meeting, and how much information you will have to ask for. This will help you set expectations for yourself and the person you are meeting with.
It’s essential to set expectations for a networking meeting so you don’t waste someone’s time. I have gone to meetings where a CEO just wants to chat over beers, and I’ve gone to meetings where the CEO wants a PowerPoint deck of my ideas and how to implement them. If you set expectations well, you can avoid being under-prepared and making a bad impression.
Also, don’t forget to articulate your interest and your value. There are two things people want to see in a networking meeting: enthusiasm or passion, and what you bring to the table. Make sure that you incorporate both these answers into your story about your history and your goals.
Use language that ties both of your interest and your value to the company, the person you’re meeting with, and yourself. It’s a tough balance, so practicing beforehand helps!
Action Item #3: Follow up
Often, you will not get an immediate offer from a networking meeting. That doesn’t mean it was a waste. Instead, you’ve gotten a contact, information, or a referral. Or you found a way to help the person with one of these three things. Be open to what someone can help you with, and good things will come.
Because networking meetings are not for closing deals, you have to follow-up and check in on the person within a reasonable time frame. This reminds the person of what you discussed, what you want, and what value you have to them. I generally follow up with a thank you email to begin with, and then follow up once more within a month.
What’s your most outrageous networking story?
Image Source: notsogoodphotography via FlickR
It’s job hunting season – but if you are looking for a job, the last thing you should be doing is building a network. Counterintuitive, perhaps, but here are three reasons why:
It’s Too Late
Building a network is a lot like planning your retirement; it takes a lot of little inputs over a long period of time. Both are built so you can cash in when you need it the most – at retirement, or in this case, when you need a job (or some other huge favor).
But if you need a job now and you haven’t been building your network, you are screwed. You may as well try opening your 401k at 50 – the math just doesn’t add up. And just like you won’t get by for 20 years on $100,000, you won’t land a great gig on a network held together by shoestrings.
So stop trying to build your network in hopes you will get a job from it. It’s too late. Instead, work on your charm and get a job that way. Then work on building your network in case your charm runs out and you need a job again.
The Law of Diminishing Returns Doesn’t Lie
Here’s what it takes to build a network: Emails. Lunch dates. Networking events. Social gatherings.
All of these take time. In fact, each thing on this list takes the same amount of time the first time you do it and the twentieth time you do it. So when you build a network, you are giving the same amount of time to each network connection. After a certain number of people, though, you start building very weak ties that aren’t going to help you in the end – when you need a job.
This is the law of diminishing returns. Same amount of input for each person, less results as you spread yourself too thin.
So consider first, how many people you can actually fit in your network. A strong connection is worth much more than ten weak ties – put your time where it matters, preferably before you need a job. Then when you need a job, use the strong connections you’ve built to get one, instead of wasting your energy on creating more weak ties.
You Already Know the Right People Anyway
Here’s the thing about getting a job: no matter how much you need a job to pay the bills, you should still try to get the best match that you can for your personality. Not only will you perform better, but you will also stay longer, which means less job hunting. Finding a job that matches your personality comes down to finding the types of people you should be working with.
It turns out you already have plenty of good network connections to find a group of people you will work well with. Like your ex-boyfriend you still talk to sometimes. Because really, good dating skills = good working skills, and people are drawn to others like them. So if you know someone you thought was a good date, he probably works with other people you will like too. Or if you have a friend you meet up with for lunch regularly, she might be able to score you an interview with her manager pal in another department.
In the end, your friends will get you a job, not your “network,” because your friends will connect you with people they like, who are probably like them. And you like your friends, right?
How would you use your network to get a job? Leave your thoughts in the comments section!
Monica O'Brien is the Director of Digital at Fizz and author of the book Social Pollination, which helps businesses leverage social media for crazy growth!
