Perspectives: What are one or two lessons you've learned from working on programs in the digital media space?

Lukas Adda
Germany
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Lukas Adda: First of all, you have to make it clear for the client that the digital space is NOT simply a small action field for young people or techies. The Web is a huge community with more than one billion users! Every project or campaign implemented here needs to be planned in detail from the very beginning.

A second learning is that viral effects or boomerangs for online actions can be tremendously higher in the digital world than those effects resulting from offline projects. Furthermore, if you are working with users, such as in Facebook groups, it will not be enough to create this group and hope that action gets going on its own. Every program needs to be moderated by a client or agency presenter.

Wallace Baldo
Brazil
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Wallace Baldo: In the digital space, you can receive very quick and precise feedback on a PR campaign, both in quantitative and qualitative terms. When a client has an article published in a newspaper, for instance, it is not possible to measure what the reader thinks of that. In social media, the client can take a look at the comments and read something like "Thank you, guys, I'm going to buy this product" — not to mention the several metrics you can use to measure exposure improvement, cost efficiency and reach.

Valeria Bazzi
Argentina
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Valeria Bazzi: There is a mental shift that should happen when thinking about programs in the digital media space. The way we connect with consumers or stakeholders is absolutely different. It is different not only in theory, but also in practice. We should start thinking that the media has different rules and ways to work from the PR perspective. Just to mention two lessons: One, we not only get faster feedback, but also faster impact; two, budgets can be lower and they can be spent in a much more strategic way.

Ken Buraker
U.S.
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Ken Buraker: Our client Web site solutions have to be complemented with more than just an earned media strategy. Typically, with widespread earned media coverage, Internet searches will increase about the respective topic. So, online paid media opportunities, such as Google AdWords and search engine optimization programs, can help drive audiences to online brand or campaign destinations. Even after the earned media coverage subsides, we can increase the dissemination and potential impact of our clients' messaging while sustaining traffic to their Web sites. This approach is vital when our metrics of success are still defined by total number of unique visitors.

Ludi Garcia
Spain
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Ludi Garcia: One lesson is that when dealing with setbacks of any kind, PR professionals must have the smartest, most up-to-date crisis management plan possible, which means leveraging the Internet and e-mail communications. With the 24/7 news cycle that includes bloggers and citizen journalists able to instantly wreak havoc on an organization, knowing how to use the Web and its tools to your advantage — and in a timely manner — is critical.

Clem Lau
China
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Clem Lau: Early on in the digital media space, I worked on bringing interactivity to traditional media — in other words, creating a communication channel between the audience and the TV program. At the time, I was CEO of XLink Media and we were one of the first companies in Asia to bring SMS (short message service) text messaging as such a means for communication. The amount of participation, sharing and passion that was brought out through what was then a new form of communication was something that nobody had expected. True then as it is today, people, even in China, want to share their passion with the world.

Jamie Read
U.A.E.
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Jamie Read: The Internet has allowed people to communicate at the speed of thought. Social media, RSS and search have meant that brands need to engage in real time; otherwise, they will be left out of the discussion. I had an experience with clients who wanted to approve every comment made on a blog I created for them. The very first comment took a week and a half to approve at the various levels of management. This alienated the consumer, who wanted to engage in a dialogue with the community about topics on which the client was seen as an expert. Rather than an online dialogue, the conversation happened somewhere else and the blog died.

In some instances, it may be difficult to communicate because of strict industry regulations, such as in healthcare. But in today's world, engaging online with consumers, INCLUDING patients, is critical. For this reason, we need to work with our clients today to understand the strict industry regulations they may be facing and work together to find the best path forward.

Olivier Saint-Léger
France
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Olivier Saint-Léger: During the last three years, the most evident point I have seen in working on digital PR activities is that we must always ask ourselves "How far can we take the Internet?" What I mean is that we all know now that the Internet — this great equalizer — leverages most of the offerings. Put another way: What's the difference between a blog made by a Web agency or a press agency and a blog made by our digital department at Ketchum Paris? The convergence of technology also means a convergence of marketing, editorial, PR, advertising and so on. And we can see it every day when our clients hesitate on the right provider of services.

So, how far can we take the Internet? A blog — to take it back to a simple example — is only a tool. And we should never forget what this tool is linked to: our core PR business and know-how, notably our great ability to convey messages and engage in conversations with the public. This, after all, is what strongly distinguishes us and gives us a legitimacy to act in the digital space.

Perspectives: Can you share an example of a key learning you've seen a client have about communicating via digital/social media?

Adda: A client in Germany that makes mountain equipment started a blog page on a social community space and contracted some of its campaign influencers to become members of the group. These influencers were supposed to actively share their mountain climbing experiences and participate in the group discussions — as this was a point of their contract. But because they had been more or less forced to participate, their reaction was somewhat half-hearted and even inactive. The lesson for the client: Don't get frustrated if users and community members do not work with or for you, and do not try to force them into participation. A campaign will run well only with authentic, happy and transparent participants.

Baldo: One Ketchum Digital client in Brazil has realized that it is not proper or necessary to pay for posts and that they can get them by simply using public relations properly. We developed a digital PR campaign for the client that resulted in hundreds of positive consumer posts and mentions in key blogs and social network communities, with all relevant product messages. Since Web 2.0 is about relationships, PR campaigns have means to be more efficient and credible than advertising to reach the online consumer. That is even more real if we consider that some blogs do not deal with paid posts or banners.

Bazzi: Last year, we organized a big event for the 40th anniversary of Hot Wheels (Mattel's brand for boys). Basically, we invited families to attend a huge car exhibition and an entertainment space specially designed for kids. The event was massive and it was free. Since we didn't have a large budget to invest in traditional advertising, we decided to advertise through Facebook, where there were many groups of Hot Wheels fans and cars collectors. We reached more than 1,000 contacts who considered attending the event. We supported the activity with traditional PR, and the outcome of this combination was fabulous!

Buraker: When leveraging social media to reach consumers, the pharma industry still exists in a Web 1.5 world in comparison to other big consumer brands. Since there is no FDA guideline or regulation that specifically covers how to have direct communication with patients and how to handle information they may get pertaining to adverse events or off-label and inappropriate use of their prescription medication, you have an industry that treads cautiously. This goes against the grain of the Web 2.0 world, which is inherently about risk taking.

For example, in the pharmaceutical industry, the level of engagement has to be carefully controlled. We've worked with clients where comments are not posted immediately. Instead, before posting for readers, the comments go through a regulatory filter to evaluate potential adverse event information so that the company can ensure responsible reporting of these events to the FDA. It's limiting because the conversation doesn't happen in real time; however, it still sustains a social-content-sharing strategy.

While it isn't happening quickly, we are seeing that pharma is embracing the new world, with many companies trying to create internal protocols to be able to better work within this medium. Hopefully, with the coming leadership change at the FDA there will be some clear guidelines developed for social media activities for pharma companies.

Garcia: This isn't specific to one client, but we've found that it is extremely important to have a relationship with bloggers before you pitch them. If you don't, then ask permission to send them some information about what you're doing for their consideration. And keep it simple. Straightforward and to-the-point may not get our creative juices flowing, but it often will get the results we're looking for.

Lau: China's Hunan Satellite TV has learned to anticipate consumer activity and even to make it easier for consumers to be involved with its shows. During the heyday of its talent search contest Super Girl, there was tremendous activity off-air. Online blogs, fan sites and sites featuring information about the contest, the contestants and their current news were abundant. Through these blogs and fan club sites, the respective clubs organized local fans to be out in force and on hand to greet their favorite contestant no matter where in China the contestant traveled. However, these blogs and fan club sites were mainly created by the fans and netizens of China and were not in cooperation with the actual Super Girl contest. There was no concerted effort to coordinate or organize these fans and interested netizens. Through the huge success of the show and the tremendous participation and show of fan support from the online community, Hunan Satellite now has implemented interactive portals for its latest hit shows, such as the No. 1-rated Chinese version of Ugly Betty.

Read: Some clients are learning that the social media space isn't necessarily the best place to display their brands. In the same way that my mom can't understand why I don't accept her friend request, some brands aren't suited to the often young, hip, adlib world of online discourse. For instance, I was asked to help create a Facebook group around a property development in the U.A.E. The clients didn't know what they wanted it for but knew that Facebook was popular, so they saw it as just another way to distribute news releases. There was never any engagement with the audience. Then the client couldn't figure out why people weren't commenting positively on the group. I eventually suggested they abandon it because 16-year-olds didn't care about property developments.

Others are learning that they are not yet comfortable putting their brands out there for everyone to see, comment, mash up and regurgitate on YouTube. That's not to say there isn't a digital space for all brands; however, in the excitement of a digital world, we can't forget that there are some serious risks online, too, and that sometimes the best (and often most cost-effective) thing for the client to do is stick with what works. A different client who sells products around the globe was looking to create a blog but later realized that nothing could be posted before being approved by four or five different people from around the world. The company also didn't want to allow comments in case someone said something bad. After realizing that what they would be most comfortable with would essentially be a corporate Web site, rather than a blog, they decided not to do it.

Saint-Léger: The most interesting thing we learned was with Adobe. When we won this client, its merger with Macromedia was just finalized. Adobe, which is more culturally oriented to creative people, needed to communicate to software developers. We decided to approach this community via bloggers. So we did many mappings to identify the most influential ones. Then we implemented microparties with these bloggers and a few very high-level spokespersons from Adobe. The idea was to involve them in vision sharing with Adobe and not to market anything. We did this in full transparency. Our philosophy was "Never talk about Adobe!" So we went "beyond the brand."

The results went far beyond what was originally expected, which was just a few posts on blogs. During the microparties, Adobe naturally found its place in the discussions among bloggers, and the strong relationships that we created led to extra activities that were beneficial for Adobe, such as school conferences, partnerships and business shows.

Perspectives: What do you think corporate communicators most need to understand about communicating via digital media?

Adda: Clients need to understand that they must "be." Be simple. Be fresh. Be creative. Be transparent. Be true. Be open. And do not lie! Otherwise your campaign and your reputation will die!

Baldo: The building of relationships in social media requires a specific planning, with customized strategies and tactics. Companies often are talking directly to the client in the digital space. To be successful, they need to use a different language and fulfill different demands. They need to provide quick, informal and clear messages, and they need to consider a broad range of scenarios. There is little control of campaigns, so corporate communicators must be ready to take advantage of positive results and to deal with negative ones.

Bazzi: What corporate communicators need to understand is that online communities are a completely different target than the consumers who never had a chance to speak back before the Web. Corporate communicators and marketers should resist the continuous sales temptation and focus, instead, on establishing a dialogue that enables them to consider online communities' ideas and feedback.

Buraker: With current and emerging social media technologies, our consumer-in-control world is here to stay. We can only influence online conversations, not control them. We must continue to help our clients observe, listen, and when appropriate, actively engage in the conversations surrounding our brands and issues across multiple channels. Doing nothing is no longer an option.

Garcia: Journalists, analysts, public relations specialists and company spokespeople are no longer the only ones telling the world about business. Today anyone can spread the word about a company and, in a matter of seconds, enlighten thousands of people about an eye-opening fact the professionals overlooked. That's a frightening thought. So, every company should ask themselves how they can cultivate a culture of authenticity and respect among their employees, leadership and loyal customer base that downgrades the fear of the lightning-fast Web 2.0 landscape?

Lau: Corporate communicators in China need to understand that digital media channels allow them to gain a more complete understanding of how their target audiences see their brand. Trying to bury negative blog postings — or worse, trying to delete them — is not only ethically unacceptable, but also ineffective. Instead, we should use these channels to listen to what the consumer is telling us about the products and services being offered. Digital media channels give corporate communicators a unique and direct access to speak intelligently and honestly to their target audiences.

Read: The Internet and the World Wide Web were called such because that's how they functioned — with hyperlinking between related static Web pages, slow communication channels and content designed to be absorbed. Web 2.0 opened things up. Web pages became more interactive, social media developed where conversations included more people and were in real time. With the boom of user-generated content through YouTube, blogs, Flickr, etc., the new Web is now more accurately referred to as a cloud. There is so much information within the cloud, much of it is useful, even more of it useless. That's why search engines have become so fundamental to our online experiences — because we can no longer surf, we search. As the cloud expands, we will begin moving into a new era of the Internet and it will be more important for brands to stay true to their beliefs and to offer value instead of simply shouting. It also will mean that the Web and the real world will combine and brands will need to develop experiences outside of the digital space but that communicate seamlessly with what's online.

Essentially, the most important thing for companies to understand is that things are constantly changing and those brands that understand the trends and can see what's coming are in the best position to meet consumers on their own turf, build the relationship and create the experience.

Saint-Léger: We always explain to clients that even if they are not interested yet in an online strategy, they cannot ignore what's happening in the digital space. In any case, they should understand that they are probably already part of it, even if they don't know it! So, it's better to anticipate and manage as early as possible to avoid potential crises.

Finally, our guideline could best be summarized in two words: honesty and transparency. And of course, having the right content is everything.