It’s tempting to think about user-generated content, peer influence and viral communications as new concepts.  But the reality is that these social concepts have been around for a long time.  When we were sharing the Architecture of Influence concept with Chris Shipley, she pointed out that housewives in the 50’s were coming up with jingles and entering contests — a form of user-generated content.  The product company — whether cereal or dish soap — got creative ideas and very engaged customers, for little cost.  Tupperware and Amway are two other classic examples of the power of word of mouth and peer influence at work.

And don’t forget the classic chain letter.  I remember painstakingly copying letters and sending them on to my friends, for fear of breaking the chain and incurring the wrath of the broken chain letter gods.  “Do not break the chain!”, the letters admonished, always citing examples of the poor sap who got hit by a truck or some other calamity.  Turns out the concept of the chain letter goes back to the Middle Ages, when a letter, purported to be from an Emperor of Rome, made the rounds in various forms.

As anyone with email knows, the chain letter is alive and well.  There are entire web sites devoted to chain letters.  http://chainletters.net/chainletters/ The web has breathed new life into many classic forms of communication.  It’s easier than ever to come up with your own content and share it with friends and colleagues.  Some might argue it’s too easy.  But either way, the sharing culture is firmly entrenched and here to stay.

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We’ve never been on the bandwagon that has declared brands are dead but we do understand why the claims are being made.  There is now a lot more that goes into buying decisions by consumers and business buyers than just brand awareness.  But to claim that brands don’t matter is naïve.  I guess Yahoo agrees based on its latest search offering.

And yet the Yahoo search filter seems to suggest that, just possibly, the idea of the brand isn’t dead after all. With branded search filtering, Yahoo is acknowledging that many searchers don’t want results from just anywhere, regardless of how algorithmically relevant those results may be. Searchers want results (from trusted Web sites) — which is to say, from trusted online brands.

Source: c__

We’ll be talking a lot more about the need for looking at communications and marketing in an entirely new light–one where search, branding and word of mouth need to coexist for companies to really take advantage of all channels to create awareness and preference for their offerings.  I get a chuckle…and some times totally annoyed…when I see dramatic claims about PR being dead, social media being free and branding irrelevant.  Glad to see that others agree.

Josh Hilliker

Intel, Intel, Intel… is it the unsung hero of effective B2B social media?

I’ll be asking that very question of Josh Hilliker, one of Intel’s key B2Bcommunity leaders and evangelists when he joins me on our podcast, Break through the Noise.

[Listen]

Until then, learn more about the man of the hour, in his own words:

Josh Hilliker is the Enterprise Evangelist / Community Manager for Intel®  vPro™  Expert Center, in End-user Platform Integration (EPI), part of the Digital Enterprise Group (DEG) within Intel.

In this role, he engages the Intel® vPro™ community as a champion and community advocate for the products, technologies, and Intel.

Josh joined Intel in 1995 within Information Technology, created the Internet / intranet and external e-Commerce help desks, established customer support, and paved the support path for future e-Business applications.

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As you know, with our initatives on influence and weekly podcast on the topic, we at Eastwick were thrilled to host Social Media Club’s June event, The Power of Influence. You can read a recap of the event on the SMC blog here.

Thanks again to our sponsors, Social Media Club and - above all - our employees who banned together to make the event a success!

Brian Halligan

It always amazing to me how companies can have a ‘persona,’ seemly without even trying.

That’s one of the many things that fascinates me about HubSpot.

Right from the home page you get the sense you’re in the company of friendly individuals and - with the free tools they offer - in the company of people who know their respective, ’stuff.’

On today’s edition of our Break through the Noise podcast, we’re going to ask Brian about if their persona has been a factor in their rise to becoming a clear influnder in the makerting space - seemingly overnight.

[Listen]

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Your influence like your shadow extends to where you may never be

Yesterday in preparation for this Thursday’s Social Media Club event, Eastwick hosted a discussion with the participating panelists.  It was a lively session on “the power of influence.” With so much to discuss, the nearly hour long call seemed like a mere precursor to this Thursday’s full blown discussion on influence.

Dominique Lahaix, CEO of eCairn, started the conversation by defining his views on influence and how it’s measured today (curious aren’t you J).

Ryan Calo, academic fellow with the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School, highlighted and shared some of the newest research on the topic.

Jeremy Thomas, Partner and Director of Global Brand Planning at Collaborate, articulated on how strategies for brand building have changed given the rise of new influencers.

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Mario Sundar, Source: Marketing Nirvana

Back in September 2008, I attended BlogWorld Expo and on the panel of my first session was Mario Sundar. He spoke about the value of corporate blogging and, during the Q&A, I challenged him with a few real-world examples that were challenging me.

Mario not only did his best to answer my questions, he invted me to come talk with him further after the session had concluded. Unfortunately, I got caught up speaking with another panelist and never got the chance to speak with Mario. We’re remedying that today as he is our featured guest on our Break through the Noise podcast.

[Listen]

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Peter Shankman

My guest on Break through the Noise this week may need no introduction as he’s already infamous to so many… (infampus in a good way, apologies to Mrs. Shankman)

So let’s go straight to hus bio, shall we? PR Week Magazine has described Peter as “redefining the art of networking,” and Investor’s Business Daily has called him “crazy, but effective.” Peter Shankman is a spectacular example of what happens when you harness the power of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and make it work to your advantage.

That’s our man this week. Peter Shankman. We love to love him, if only for creating the infinitely useful HARO (Help a Reporter Out) which has seen his fame - and rumored wealth - grow.

[Listen]

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Source: The New Yorker, January 15, 2007

My typical workday is never really typical, which is great. But, I guess that’s what makes it so hard to explain what we do sometimes?

When people ask what I do, I usually answer with the compendious “Tech communications,” and I almost always get asked… “What’s that?” And then something clicks, “Ooooh, Public Relations, so that’s when you write press releases and get coverage, right?”

I’ve even received the evil eye and a negative response referring to corporate/political flacks who make their living covering up everything from the public.

<Deep breath>

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Drop and give me 20!

Bootcamp leaders Elaine and Barbara

Yes, I actually uttered those words on Friday and no, the offenders did nary a push up.

But it was Bootcamp day at Eastwick and I’m happy to report that our team was up to the task and then some.

Unlike past bootcamps (our version of an all-day professional development exercise), this one was less about PR skills and more about critical thinking skills.

The PR business is undergoing a radical transformation, which means we need to look at our clients’ challenges in new ways and offer different solutions.

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