Make the Noise

This morning I started reading a book that my boss gave me last week called “Radically Transparent” by Andy Beal and Dr. Judy Strauss. The foreword was written by Robert Scoble, and it piqued by curiosity. Scoble attempts to debunk Public Relations and any type of communications strategy by citing his corporate experience with Microsoft and proclaiming the absolute importance of transparency at the micro level. He depicts Apples as a type of Public Relations Nazi, forbidding the entry level employees to even mention they work for Apple on a social media platform, and touts Dell as a demigod for embracing the utter and complete openness of all workers. But a question that keeps coming up in my mind, especially between these two specific product companies is: ‘Does it matter to the masses?.’

Apple is very strict on its messaging, it does this to ensure that when a product is being developed the noise level doesn’t burn out by the time the product comes into the market. Would the iPhone have achieved such success if Apple wasn’t able to stop the person who happened to work on designing the packaging from blogging about specific specs before the launch? Probably not. While the product is cool, if a year before launch, details on this super-secret product had been spewed out to the world without any type of filtering, it would have been torn apart, digested, and spit back out by the time it reached stores. Public Relations and marketing in general is all about the timing. And especially in technology, it’s all about the type. If a product release can be controlled, the “cool” factor can be fed and fostered, instead of the flaws taking center stage.

Scoble claims that Dell is the leader in transparency for their industry because they are accepting of feedback and allow employees to air publicly their latest discoveries, therefore creating evangelists online for their products. He does mention the downfalls of total transparency, but minimalized their true impacts. But who, in this war for internet evangelists, is winning? Last I checked, there weren’t millions of sites of Dell Fans, nor stories about Dell fanatics getting on prime-time TV because of their love for the product. The lack of micro-transparency on Apple’s part doesn’t mean that they aren’t listening to their users, it means that they are able to create market share first with a planned strategy and then listen.

In the end, does micro-transparency matter to the masses? I don’t think so. I think honesty matters, and to get the best picture of the entire process and be transparent as a company doesn’t mean that the guys working on one piece of the big pie can provide the best picture for the world, nor garner the biggest support / evangelists for the company. As you can see by the photo, it’s not a Dell store that people were camping out in front of..

(Photo by: richardmasoner WikiMedia Commons)

I love Twitter. It’s a brilliant tool to communicate in a simple and precise way with a gathering of individuals from all walks of life. However, it is merely a tool in an armory of other social media and traditional PR weapons, it does not solve all problems nor can it single-handedly reach mass scale outreach. Twitter will never replace the phone, nor will it replace the need to have professionals working to get the word out to properly promote your product. Twitter is a tool for public relations:

Twitter is best when it’s used as part of a group of tools (i.e. email, phone calls, press releases, etc.) – it is not the cure for all public relations needs.

It still amazes me that major corporations have no clue what social media is.  Most jump to the wrong conclusion when posed with the idea of social media – it’s either a facebook / myspace stunt, or its SEO.

Social Media IS NOT SEO, but search engines DO look kindly upon blog posts/community comments/online noise.  Social media has far less to do with how high in the search engine you are, and more to do with developing solid relationships utilizing online tools to create a brand / product awareness that goes beyond the SEO and social networks.

Let’s break it down.  I’m into defining words lately, according to Dictionary.com Social is defined as (pulled the first two)

1. pertaining to, devoted to, or characterized by friendly companionship or relations: a social club.

2. seeking or enjoying the companionship of others; friendly; sociable; gregarious

Ah the word “Relationship” pops its lovely head again.  Social media needs to be all about relationships.  It’s an exchange between brand and consumers on an intimate level utilizing the social tools, in a social manner, to get social groups engaged,  NOT SEO.