SOCIAL MEDIA PROS SHOULD ADOPT 'LOVE BOAT' STRATEGY

Richard Knafelc, Wyle Stateman and Eric Schwartzman
at EPPS workshop on Social Media at ICG Union Local
600 in Hollywood, CA (MAYO PR image)

Entertainment Publicists Professional Society members learned the New Media is "Not new" and Social Media is all about the "Experience" and how you feel about it

By George S. Mc Quade III

West Coast Editor

"Exclusives," "content is king," and "new media" are ideas that need to be junked in today's PR world, according to panelists at a May 20 Entertainment Publicists Professional Society workshop held in Hollywood.

Eric Schwartzman, who advises the military and non-profits on online activity, told the audience to become more sophisticated about platforms and figure out how to incorporate social media sites into their own websites.

Eric Schwartzman, Social Media Expert

He believes the idea that a copyright owner is in full control of the content is not valid any more.

"If content is truly king, how did Steve Jobs corner the record industry without owning a single copyright?" asked Schwartzman. 

The Apple chief just "made it easier to get music through iTunes than anybody else. Compelling content is critical, but it has to be easy to get," he said.

PR people who thrive in the social media world think less like Hollywood PR legend Warren Cowan, who died in 2008, and more like "Julie," the cruise director of "The Love Boat," according to Schwartzman, who says the key to success is to help a community communicate with members.

Schwartzman was once director of promotions at Rogers & Cowan.

Social media is a world of experience. PR people "shoving information at targeted reporters/bloggers doesn't work anymore," said Dror Mohar, creative director atFuzeit.com, an online media company.

Panelist Contacts

Exclusives are things of the past and unless media assets like videos, audio and images are tagged and cataloged, they have little value.

"We know everything, the information is out there," said Mohar.  "It's easy to get access and to make the same pitch that anyone else does. It's even easier to get that context and resurface it. But it's how it feels and how it feels on so many levels – not how it feels to just your customer or client, but how it feels to you."

"Get relevant on Google or you won't found" said James Hipkin of Red 8 Studios. "The consumer is taking more and more control on how they want to receive information, and when they want to receive it. And that's a key fundamental shift. It's no longer about shouting at consumers. It's now about having the consumer listen to what you say based on when and how they want it."

Don't Forget TV, Radio

Panelists agreed that TV, radio and newspapers continue to pack a punch.

Richard Knafelc

"There's some content that works better down different pipes," said PR Newswire's Richard Knafelc. "New Media is like an awkward teenager. He makes a lot of noise, but doesn't do much. It doesn't matter what service or distribution you use, but it comes down to content. We can throw everything under the sun out there for our clients, but if the content is crap in and crap out, it doesn't matter how you get it out there.

"That's something I've come across quite a bit. We try to educate our clients that just because there's a new toy out there to play with, it doesn't mean it's going to cost you more than if you distribute it traditionally going wide," Knafelc said.

"Social media has not changed the way we gather news," said Doug Faigin, president of City News Service, a wire service. "Because of the economic difficulty the region is undergoing, whenever we have a rare opening, we get far more resumes and the quality of journalists applying for jobs at CNS are rated higher."

The problem that Faigin has with online activity is fact checking: "How do you know it's credible, just because it's out there is it right? The old media have credibility regardless how controversial the piece may be. Nevertheless, it's a starting point, and not some blogger out their spouting off his or her ideas that may or may not be based on fact."

Consider various mixes of media, but distribute content in a private label fashion, said Wylie Stateman, CEO of Fuzeit.com.

"You should be able to analyze who receives it, how they use it, and if they shared it," said Statemen. "But the most important thing is to develop compelling content. It's important to understand not only the need for content, but the production of content."

James Hipkin

james [at] red8studios.com

Richard Knafelc

Richard.knafelc [at]prnewswire.com

Dror Mohar

dmohar [at] fuzeit.com

Erick Schwartzman

ericbennettschwartzman [at] gmail.com

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