Perpetual Beta: The Communications Pro of the Future - Part 4

"The Communications pro of the future must be a master of three important disciplines: Radical Listening, Social Influence, and Perpetual Beta. Within each are new practical skills that will define the true PR master – the next generation ‘”trusted advisor.” "

 

The following is the fourth in a series on the skills of the communications professional circa 2010:

Perpetual Beta

“Nothing is ever finished.”  “The perfect is the enemy of the good.”  “Get ‘pretty good’ out the door and we’ll improve it based upon feedback.”  “We have to be in market, like, tomorrow…”

Sound familiar? Let’ s face it, the days of “cathedral building” where we plan a big program for months and then launch it, watch it go and count the impressions – those days are over. We will succeed as communications pros the more we attune ourselves to being nimble, resourceful, and willing to optimize programs once they are out in public. Being fast on our feet doesn’t begin to describe what’s necessary. We need to have playbooks in our heads or literally ‘playbooks’ of what to do if this happens next and so forth. In a complex world, you cannot anticipate how a marcom program will rollout (or even “unravel”). This type of dynamic will either make you crazy or, if you adopt a judo-like attitude, will become one of the most exciting parts of the job. 

1. Run quick pilot programs & evaluate on-the-fly
   We can call for “strategy” until we are blue in the face. Many brands now need experience in-market with new innovative programs. They need pilots with a beginning, middle and an end. And they need a solid measurement model to judge the efficacy of the program.
2. Train teams continuously
   Stop believing that the twenty-somethings in your organization will effortlessly transform your organization into a social media juggernaut. We need to train – ourselves, our colleagues, our business partners/clients. It’s time for an enduring commitment to training. We have one of the most thorough and never-ending approach to training that I know of out there. Anything less would not prepare us for what we face everyday.
3. Integrate new technologies into our lives
   You cannot be expert at how to use social media to affect business simply by observation. You cannot just read a book. You need to roll up your sleeves and use Twitter, Facebook, Posterous or whatever the next new thing is. Give yourself permission to experiment and explore. It will pay off and the time sacrifice will become worth it.
4. Always be innovating
   Once you have a pretty solid solution to a communications problem, know that it’s time to come up with a fresh approach. If you build a rhythm of constantly innovating, you will get used to it and be able to bring new solutions constantly. Never rest. Never fall back into a rut.
   
   
   Embrace the Complexity
   This is a great time to be a Communications professional. There is a freshness to the discipline thanks to social media and an increasingly complex marcom universe. We are all participating in the transformation of public relations. Our mastery of new skills will guarantee our role as strategic advisors who design communications plans that have big impact. Add these skills to the expertise most walk through the door with and we will be that powerful Communications Professional of the Future – driving business results, building brand reputation, and helping our businesses transform.
   

A Word on "Judgement:"

One thing that these skills cannot deliver on their own is ‘judgment’ and as Marcia Silverman, retiring CEO of Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, and one of the true ‘great ones’ in the business, once told me, good judgment is often the defining characteristic of a truly great public relations practitioner. So, after you have honed all of these practical skills, never lose sight of that elusive quality - good judgement. Find it in mentors. Discover it the hard way - through experience. Just never underestimate how valuable a skill it really is.

Useful "beta" resources:

The Future of Advertising, PR and Social Media: Two Directions

The Daily Influence (an Ogilvy PR beta reader)

3 Trends in Integrating Social Media 

Comments

[Steve Farnsworth (@Steveology)]

I was struck by your “evaluate on-the-fly” observation, and couldn’t agree more. There are so many “unknown unknowns” with how a campaign, or any marketing program, can unfold with the added dimension of social media. However, more broadly I am surprised social media listening tool developers and user companies have failed to see the tool’s capability for what it really is, a real-time decision making laboratory. We now have the ability to make strategic course corrections on the fly. As a marketer this makes my heart beat a little faster—okay, I don’t get out much.

The body of invaluable real time data available on the Internet was unattainable by even the wealthiest company historically. Now, for a small fraction of a company’s marketing budget it can tap this information to give itself an unfair strategic advantage over the competition to own markets and drive demand. However, the majority of companies use it for little more than a clip book.

--Steve

P.S. Great series.

[John Bell]

Great comment. Working iteratively - listening, adjusting or responding - is hard work. It is foreign to most marcom experts. We gotta get good at that and the listening companent is underutlized as you describe.

[twitter.com/ragtag]

Great post. I especially recognise the 3rd point. See far too many people trying to use new technology in comms for major bits of work yet have never used these to even keep in touch with friends. It's like learning to drive a truck when you've never got on a bike.