I had heard a similar presentation of this nature during the Inbound Marketing Summit here in San Francisco by Chris Brogan but thought it would be intriguing to bring it up here in light of the panel discussion. Here’s the concept behind why PR, Marketing & Advertising “sucks”, as given by Le Meur:
Do not trust any advertising message or press release, they are generally fake.
Le Meur states that this is the press releases and messages that you would typically receive are all bias towards the product. They’re always going to be “one-sided” and aren’t neutral in any way.
Bad practice by so-called “PR experts” can burn your experience & leads to lack of trust.
With Le Meur’s case, he had been treated in a harsh manner by some PR firms who simply doesn’t understand how to manage relationships properly and effectively. Examples of bad practices by PR firms include having interns write fake iPhone app reviews or perhaps addressing emails to the wrong individuals with a templated (and non-personalized) header (”Dear
If your product is good enough online, you don’t need the publicity.
This resonates with me because if you have an online component and are doing a great job reaching out to people through outreach, engagement and conversation, then you don’t need to spend the extra money going out putting up banner ads, issuing press releases and undertaking all the other promotional steps. The word of mouth effort will be strong if people are happy with the existing product. They will be your advocates. So focus on helping to create a better product and have people use it online, elicit feedback, improve, and repeat the cycle all over again – the more people that are happy with it, the less effort you will need to exert to promote it.
So now what?
Before you think that these are simply just reasons why you should do everything by yourself, there are steps you need to take to ensure that you’re on the right path. Without taking care of these first, you’re not really prepared to do this self-publicity by yourself.
Find an empty space.
This is similar to finding a niche. Take a look at the market and if you see an opening for a service that isn’t being provided, take advantage of it and be the first provider!
Ship as soon as you can.
Sometimes, unfinished and “beta” products can help you get noticed and offer some great assistance. Just look at what Le Meur did with Seesmic – they released an unfinished product and it has since spread and grown to become a good one. According to Le Meur, people online are used to looking at unfinished product – they understand that there are things that will be rolled out in later phases so it’s alright to get your product out the door as quickly as possible. Although, this doesn’t apply to all products in the known world. Some things should be finished to its fullest extent if possible, but speaking generically, ship as soon as you can.
Listen to every single piece of feedback you get.
Whether it’s positive or even negative feedback, make sure you listen to every single piece of feedback. Le Meur suggests looking on Twitter search under your brand to see what people are saying about your product. It’s suggested that if you interact with an angry user who is unhappy with your product and show them that you care about their input, then you’ll be able to convert them to being a happier person and perhaps even then a supporter of your product. This is where a community manager would come in handy.
Answer especially if it’s negative.
Don’t shy away from any negative press or feedback. These are the things that will get you to improve your product. Let’s face it…no one has a 100% perfect product that everyone absolutely adores. All products have some noticeable flaw that you might not have accounted for. So get rid of the delusions of grandeur and instead focus on how you can get your product up to snuff.
Use all the tools available to filter the feedback.
Don’t rely on Google or search engines to get you the feedback. There are other tools that you can add to your arsenal. Obviously one would be Twitter, but what about using feedback support with GetSatisfaction or perhaps ZenDesk? UserVoice is also another option. Don’t think that by using one option, you’re able to account for most feedback. Give your users multiple points of entry to leave you feedback.
Most important, create a long term community.
If you’re thinking that a community happens overnight, you’re sorely mistaken. Plan for the long-term and let your community grow by itself. Fans come and go with the tide and over the long-term, you’re going to accumulate more people in your community as long as you take care of your product and do right by the customer.
These are basic steps that you should take to get your message out, but find what works and what doesn’t for you and build upon that. If you find that you need more marketing dollars or a PR agency, then that would be the way for you to go, but the Internet has offered a wider avenue to explore when it comes to promotions and the only person suited to reach out to a community about your product is, quite frankly, you.
Good luck!
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