Hey, there. I’m Ryan La Rosa, and this is my new blog. Here, I’ll rant, rave and comment like I’m some sort of authority. Let me begin by disparaging the thing that just so happens to occupy half of my business card. Public Relations. I hate PR. 

I might not hate it as deeply as I hate a certain East Coast baseball team that “proudly” — arrogantly — refer to themselves as “The Nation,” but my hatred still runs pretty deep.

What bothers me the most about PR is its practitioners’ inherent fallback on old practices and a lack of creativity. Somewhere along the line we lost sight of the title. Public Relations means that we try to find the most effective means of reaching the public. If that’s the case, then why do we as an industry continue to rely on outdated practices that in our gut we know aren’t working? Simply put, it’s easy.

The ultimate crime is that the majority of our clients don’t know the true nature and capabilities of PR. They walk in the door asking for press releases and major headlines, and instead of educating them as to why that’s not the only or even the most effective means, we just nod our heads like mindless drones. As a PR professional I’m guilty of it, and I think if we took some time to do a little soul searching we’d all admit we’ve done the same.

That’s not to say there isn’t some amazing work being done out there. I’m also not saying media relations isn’t important. It’s very important. But media relations is simply a cog in the overall PR wheel. Newspaper readership is dwindling, the Internet has become an advertising landfill, and consumers have lost trust in “editorial” messaging. For all of these reasons, consumers are relying on each other for information, now more than ever. As audiences around us get smarter, they filter out expensive “strategic marketing messages.” It’s PR’s job to start making the messages more organic.

Let’s start conversations! Isn’t it obvious? A newspaper article about your new restaurant won’t likely be seen by a majority of your audience, and if they do see it, the endorsement doesn’t carry nearly the same weight as it might have in the past. Now, what if a trusted friend came up to you and suggested you try the same restaurant. Maybe they blogged about it, texted you about it, or better yet, forwarded you the article that ran in the paper. Now you’re talking! Literally, you’re talking. That’s a trusted source. That’s a sincere endorsement. That’s public relations.

Well that’s all well and good, but you’re probably asking yourself “How we do it?” That’s where the second half of mu business card comes in - Word of Mouth marketing. It means that we connect clients and their audiences directly. It means using word-of-mouth marketing, viral marketing, and social networking, in conjunction with tried and true methods. The bottom line is it’s time to stop being safe. It is my pledge to start doing justice to the title of our beloved practice — public relations. Who’s with me? 

Now if you’ll excuse me I’m off to build a media list and pitch a press release.

Every time I try to get into Twitter I’ve found some reason to back away. But as it continues to explode, I figured I’d give it another shot, fully engage and see if I can find the real value.  Turns out what I’ve really found after a couple weeks of participation is that a conversation between good and evil seems to be taking place on my shoulders.

On one side is the angel, happy with the fact that I’ve made a few connections, talked with people that I otherwise wouldn’t have and shared some information. Mostly, these connections have been an exchange of pleasantries, but I get the idea. Having someone acknowledge you (and you them) is fulfilling. 

On the other side though is the devil. And I have to admit, he’s talking a whole lot louder than the angel. What I honestly see on Twitter is a bunch of people calling themselves experts who post links from various sites that usually have little to no connection with themselves. To put it bluntly, many seem to have an RSS feed set up to provide them information on a given topic that they then post to Twitter. Does posting a link make you an expert?

I’m a marketing guy. I get why people are doing this, especially marketing people (who seem to occupy much of the Twitter conversation). Positioning yourself as an expert is akin to finding the holy grail of marketing. It’s what we’re all after. But for me, the ultimate benefit of Twitter is that it has shown me just how few experts are truly out there.

Anyone can set up an RSS to capture links, then race to post them on Twitter in an effort to get out ahead of the countless others undoubtedly posting the same material. My problem with Twitter is that no one has really figured out how to use it. How do you really use Twitter to position yourself as an expert?  More disturbing is the fact that there are a lot of real experts out there engaging with Twitter whose insights I really do value. But their information is being devalued by the many who are saturating the medium with useless or repetitive information. It’s a race to take credit and, unfortunately, I think we’re all losing. I know what you’re saying, “Then don’t follow all the link posters.” The trouble is, Twitter has made it almost impossible to distinguish expert from “poster.”

I’m going to continue my Twitter odyssey in hopes that I’ll stumble onto its benefits any day now.  But I’m even more hopeful that the real experts show their expertise by navigating through the Twitter landscape and finding a way to truly maximize the benefits of a potentially revolutionary tool.   

But until then, I could use your help. Am I right? Totally wrong? Does Twitter work for you? What are the main benefits to you? How do you use it?

Thanks,

@ryanlarosa