My presentation for the Solo PR Pro Summit on Thursday, February 21, 2013 - an updated, enhanced and improved version of my PRSA ICON 2012 presentation.

3. Twitter Summary
Changing content, skills and tech confuse
and distract PR. Adaptive modeling is key to
working smarter. #solopr (via @prblog)
Adaptation or Extinction? What you need to know. #solopr

4. Adaption or Extinction?
» Change
• Content / Behaviors / Technology
» Media & Blogger Modeling
» Adaptive Modeling
» Call to Action
• Content / Behaviors / Technology
Adaptation or Extinction? What you need to know. #solopr

5. The Bad Pitch Blog
“I’m GONNA SET IT
straight, this
Watergate.”
- Beastie Boys
Adaptation or Extinction? What you need to know. #solopr

6. The Truth
MONSTERS?

7. VIGILANTES?

8. MUPPETS!

9. Industry Trends
Modeling Change
Adaptation or Extinction? What you need to know. #solopr

10. Change: Content
» Media convergence is our friend
Media What & Who Action Strength Weakness
Complete
Pushes to Less credible;
Paid Promotions, ads message control
strangers cluttered
Creates richer Brands are
Pulls in connections, finding their
Owned Content marketing
customers brand- way; takes
controlled time
News, blog content; Fuels front of No control;
Engages
Earned drives engagement sales funnel; metrics
with fans
and sharing most credible misapplied
Adaptation or Extinction? What you need to know. #solopr

11. Change: Earned Media
» Most pitches aren’t bad
• Many aren’t even pitches
» Most offenders don’t care
» Send us good pitches
• Pitch + link to ink
» Better lists, fewer contacts, better results
• Know where tools can help and hurt
Adaptation or Extinction? What you need to know. #solopr

12. Worst Pitches. EVER!
Porn (Ew) In-DUH-stry GIRLFriend?
Fleshdrive Brings Press Release Five Best Places to
Movies to the Distribution Find the Guy of
Palm of Your Hand Company Your Dreams
Embraces AP style
Guidelines
Dead Issue Debbie Does Data Sources: MTV, NYT,
Who Died Today? BizWeek, markets
“Tropical Storm
New Website nationwide
Debbie is Going to
Makes Sure You’re F*(k East Coast’s Sinners? PBS, Extra
Always in the Brains Out” – TV, Library of
Know Gawker Congress, BIG
agencies
Adaptation or Extinction? What you need to know. #solopr

13. Change: Behaviors & Skills
» Trends Drive Need for Broader
Understanding, Collaboration
• Search Marketing
• Graphic Design / Video / Photography
• Developer
• Paid Media Planner
» One Size Fits (No One At) All
• Broadcast vs. Engagement Platform
• Media vs. Blogger
Adaptation or Extinction? What you need to know. #solopr

14. Change: Behaviors & Skills
» Are Media and Bloggers the Same?
• As similar as they are different
• Smarter targeting needed for both
• Different approaches with each
» Confusion
• “Citizen Journalists”
• Disclosure
• Need for better targeting
• Media vs. Blogger Background
Adaptation or Extinction? What you need to know. #solopr

15. Change: Behavior & Skills
Media Blogger
Career Passion
Editorial and ads are All-In-One
separate
Deadline-driven Blog competes with life
Short news cycle Longer news cycle
» Home products, fashion categories now collaborate
on new product design and development
Adaptation or Extinction? What you need to know. #solopr

16. Change: Technology
» Technology fuels collaboration; content
creation, distribution; engagement and
scale
• Tech / Collaboration helps bridge skills gap
• Content explosion yields curation opportunity;
requires broader use of search
• Technology fuels frictionless sharing
• Scale technology is being misapplied
• Platforms for audience ID, creation and distribution,
engagement, monitoring, measuring
Adaptation or Extinction? What you need to know. #solopr

17. Takeaways
Media & Blogger Modeling
Adaptation or Extinction? What you need to know. #solopr

18. Media Relations Lifecycle
Prepare/
React
Build Pitch/
Relationship Follow Up
Interview/
Next Steps
Follow Up
Story Runs
Adaptation or Extinction? What you need to know. #solopr

19. Media Relations Lifecycle
Narrow Keyword
Universe; Prepare/
Search
Inform React
& Send
Engagement
Build Pitch/
Relationship Follow Up
Interview/
Next Steps
Follow Up
Story Runs
Adaptation or Extinction? What you need to know. #solopr

20. Blogger Outreach Lifecycle
Participate/
Engage
Build
Relationship Pitch/Follow Up
Participate/
Next Steps Engage/
Follow Up
Content
Adaptation or Extinction? What you need to know. #solopr

21. Blogger Outreach Lifecycle
Narrow
Participate/ Keyword
Universe;
Engage Search
Inform
& Send
Engagement
Build
Relationship Pitch/ Follow Up
Participate/
Next Steps Engage/
Follow Up
Content
Adaptation or Extinction? What you need to know. #solopr

22. Adaptive Modeling
» Annual Planning
• Slow, Reactive, Linear
Research Plan Execute Measure
Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2
Adaptation or Extinction? What you need to know. #solopr

23. Adaptive Modeling
» Adaptive Planning
• More Flexible, More Accountable
Test &
Learn
Research
Execute Iterate Execute Iterate
Plan
• Data stream informs iteration
Adaptation or Extinction? What you need to know. #solopr

24. Adaptive In Action
Then Now Data Source
CATEGORIES driven Categories driven by SEM Rush Data
by published content predetermined need
EDITORIAL driven by Editorial informed by reader Analytics; site
writer preference, reaction/ engagement and site search logs
passion search
PUBLISHING as Publishing once a day, 10am est Analytics
completed, without
scheduling
DISTRIBUTING content Focused on Twitter, Inbound.org, Analytics
randomly to drive Outbrain to drive traffic,
traffic engagement
Adaptation or Extinction? What you need to know. #solopr

25. Adaptation or Extinction? What you need to know. #solopr

26. Adaptive In Action
Adaptation or Extinction? What you need to know. #solopr

27. Takeaways
Call to Action
Adaptation or Extinction? What you need to know. #solopr

28. Action: Content
» Build primary focus, secondary
understanding for paid, owned, earned
» Create a New Pitch Plan
• Scale effort based on
• story type
• timeline
• content format/technology
• build for iteration via analytics/search/social data
Adaptation or Extinction? What you need to know. #solopr

29. Action: Content
» Consider new content types and how
creation, curation and distribution work
with technology
• Geo-local content via Foursquare Lists
• Curated playlists via Spotify
• Optimize for audience, goals, simple
consumption and redistribution
• Visual content based on users’ social
profile; e.g. Intel’s Museum of Me
Adaptation or Extinction? What you need to know. #solopr

30. Action: Behaviors & Skills
» Focus more on human vs. machine
during list development; data/CRM
optimize process
» Reconsider blogger outreach based on a
community model
» Read “Social Media & PR: Eight New
Practices for the PR Professional”
• Deirdre Breakenridge
Adaptation or Extinction? What you need to know. #solopr

31. Action: Behaviors & Skills
What Were Are
Tumblr & Pinterest Popular social sites Drive curation, sharing
and traffic
Google & Facebook Search/ social sites Major (earned) media
outlets
Earned Media Broadcast Participate
Generation
Search Engines Organic opportunity; Paid , organic and
based on math content; based on
engagement
The Shiny New Blind faith or Pragmatic test and
skepticism learn opportunities
Other Agencies Competition Collaborative
opportunities
Adaptation or Extinction? What you need to know. #solopr

32. Action: Technology
» Data is directional, NOT Definitive
» Break down silos for more powerful insight
streams
» Data reduces need for human touch; it
doesn’t eliminate it
Adaptation or Extinction? What you need to know. #solopr

33. Action: Technology
Search Engine
Audience ID
Social Monitoring
Influence
Site
Analysis
Adaptation or Extinction? What you need to know. #solopr

34. Action: List Development
• Five-stage, 26-step process; more than
half is human vs. machine
• Identifies bloggers with mix of
• Relevancy: on-topic, sentiment
• Reach: socially active, level of following
• Content: relevancy, frequency
• Engagement: number of comments, links
» Averages 50 percent or higher success
Adaptation or Extinction? What you need to know. #solopr

35. Action: Adaptive Modeling
» Audit defines progress and gaps in
process, talent and technology
» 75 percent to launch
» Always in beta
» Embrace collaboration over competition
» Moves compensation to focus on value
instead of time
Adaptation or Extinction? What you need to know. #solopr

36. Twitter Summary
Changing content, skills and tech confuse
and distract PR. Adaptive modeling is key to
working smarter. #solopr (via @prblog)
Adaptation or Extinction? What you need to know. #solopr