Issue Date: Media Relations Report July 2007

YouTube is not CNN-and your executives need to communicate accordingly

 

Media trainers and other PR professionals explain why social media demands
an approachable demeanor for even the steeliest execs

Hilary ClintonBefore the Web 2.0 era, Hillary Clinton might have announced
her presidential candidacy with a splashy press conference in front of a
crowd of media. Today, she does it via a video on her Web site, while
sitting on a couch in her cozy living room, looking as though she's ready
for a relaxed <http://www.hillaryclinton.com/video/2.aspx> chat with the
viewer.

That approach, say media trainers, has become the standard for leaders who
need to communicate beyond the confines of a broadcast TV interview. Now
that they're talking on YouTube and via podcasts, executives need to refresh
their media skills-and in some cases, to make a slight change of mindset.

"Clinton took everyone by surprise with that video, because she was so
personable," says Mike Schwager, president of Worldlink Media Consultants
<http://www.mediamavens.com> in Fort Lauderdale. "That's the ticket for
social media-warm, more casual and friendly equals connection and
likeability."

Not surprisingly, executives aren't crazy about becoming warm and fuzzy,
especially after they spend years perfecting the lofty and statesmanlike
communications style that works well with mainstream media.

Shooting for stardom on YouTube? Here are some tips from media trainers for
your spokespeople:

* Put on your set-designer hat. Think about putting your exec in a
casual setting instead of behind a desk.

* Give your exec an interviewer (you, perhaps) to keep the
conversation engaging.

* Don't let your exec read a statement - keep the dialogue focused on
a few key points. Don't over-rehearse.

* Tone down the hard sell of your organization. (We know, that's a
tough one...)

* Tell your exec to pretend he or she is talking to just one person -
not thousands.

"Social media is really a two-way communications model which allows for
customer feedback in way that most executives aren't entirely comfortable
with," says Amy Simpson, PR account manager at Chandler Ehrlich
<http://www.cecnet.com> in Memphis. "Not only that, but social media
requires an immediacy that most executives are not prepared for. It's
critical that they learn, first and foremost, how to be conversational and
personable, and how to take immediate criticism."

The audience that's engaging with social media is the cause for this change.
"They're all about community," says Scott Marioni, executive vice president
of R <http://www.randjpr.com> &J PR in Bridgewater, N.J. about social media
consumers. "They don't want to be sold. They're using this medium to learn
things and to bond with an organization."

For the PR professionals who are advising executives on this new approach,
the key word may be "approachable." Spokespeople need to talk as though
they're speaking to a single listener or viewer-and not to the reporter or
"filter." That filter, for all practical purposes, doesn't exist in the
social media setting.

"YouTube is not CNN, and you can't take the same approach as you would with
traditional news outlets," says Simpson. "Listeners or viewers of social
media expect more of a one-on-one conversation, rather than a CEO with stiff
upper lip, spouting facts. Social media requires executives to be honest and
believable at all costs."

In the absence of the media filter, John Pilmer, president of Pilmer PR
<http://www.pilmerpr.com> in Orem, Utah, says PR pros need to provide
someone with whom an exec can interact while creating a Web video or a
podcast. "You still need to sound like you're being interviewed by a
reporter, instead of reading a statement," he explains.

Jennifer Jolly, a senior media specialist at Allison
<http://www.allisonpr.com> & Partners in San Francisco, says that she's
pretty much stopped drilling executives on using key messages in their
social media appearances. That old-school PR approach, she explains, doesn't
work in Web videos and podcasts.

"You can't get executives to fit into a box anymore," says Jolly. "They need
to use their own unique personalities to represent the company." Jolly
echoes Marioni's thoughts about the savvy social media consumer, and how he
or she wants to be talked to. "Consumers don't like the spin, and they don't
want to be talked to by some almighty CEO."

In addition to sounding more personable and approachable, and less like a
corporate shill, executives also need to learn that social media means that
nothing is ever off the record-and that any misstatement will haunt you for
months, Jolly points out.

"Every single thing an executive says is on stage," says Jolly, noting the
preponderance of bloggers at every event and meeting your executive might
attend. "Even something that is said off the cuff will end up somewhere on
the Web-and the shelf life is much longer."

On the plus side, executives may find that in the social media world, what
they say is less important than how they say it. "The impression is based on
whether they're likeable," says Schwager. "It's about the way they dress,
their body language- and whether they're showing their vulnerability."

Another plus: The social media trend may allow other executives to start
honing their spokesperson skills, says TJ Walker, president of Media
Training <http://www.mediatrainingworldwide.com> Worldwide in New York.

"It used to be that unless you were the CEO, you didn't get to do any TV,"
Walker explains. "Now someone who walks around with gravy stains on his
shirt needs to worry about sounding relaxed and authoritative." In other
words, "there are a lot more opportunities to embarrass yourself."