I don't think blogging earns your salt in social media. Perhaps a few years ago it did. Today, blogs are rapidly losing their audience because of oversaturation. A blog is born and dies everyday. There are 100's of millions out there - who cares?

Good social media practitioners are in community, talking to real people; they are learning by using the new platforms and social media vehicles that launch daily. After facebooking, seesmicing, qiking, twittering and plurking all day - who has time to blog? As you can see from my dusty old blog, I certainly don't;)

Thank you, Tom! Just want to mention that our 360 Digital Influence team at Ogilvy PR has been blogging for a long time at http://blog.ogilvypr.com/ ...

What about individuals at firms that blog, use Twitter, create UGC video contests, facebook groups, instruct on use of Digg, regularly comment on blogs (not for clients, but for ourselves), digest every piece of social media information they can find and more, all with great passion. Should we stop because the firm does not have a blog? Who wrote that rule? Having a blog? It's not the only criteria that a company should consider when selecting a PR firm, far from it. Ask them for their success stories http://tinyurl.com/5dzw3t
and for examples of social media work for clients that has worked. I come across poorly written-"look what I know about PR and social media" blogs everyday..and never return to them again.

I agree with Lizun. This is a sophmoric concept. One does not have to blog 24/7 to understand how it all works, and how to help others. One does not have to write for the media to understand the media, and win media coverage, be that via traditional or new media. By that measure, PR shops that are not constantly in crisis should not be considered for crisis communications work. Look, what matters today are the same things that always mattered: a killer Rolodex, a killer portfolio, and killer references -- blog or no blog. And BTW, if you;'re going to blog, proof your work before you post. ;-)

I don't think a blog is sufficient to indicate you know what you're doing in new media, but it does help clients to believe that they're talking to experts.

Here's one more for you list: Boca Communications (blog is at http://bocacommunications.blogspot.com/).

If you don't do it how can you know how to do it? You can't. Ask anybody that does it.

The correct answer here is (c) "all of the above." When we redid our website, we came to the same conclusion as Tom. So we incuded a blog and many videos that we produced ourselves. It takes a fair amount of time and effort, but I think that it is worth it. Please feel free to take a look and tell me what you think.

That said, we are now at a point where a PR firm should be judged on the social media results that they have generated for their clients. A blog and UCG is a part of the puzzle. But potential clients should expect to see a track record and references.

Yes, Rob is right, all the above. What it comes down to is that PR firms should be using the tools of new/social media in their business to demonstrate that they can do the same for their clients. If they are saying the new/social media is important to any business then they should demonstrate it in their business too, imho.
But, as we all know, there is a tremendous amount of BS being put out there by PR firms that don't know what they are talking abut because they aren't doing it. I'd like to separate the ones that do from the ones that don't. Which should be quite easy.

A blog is the MINIMUM standard that I would expect out of any PR firm.

You have to understand the multitude of the social ecosystems and have proven execution and connections across multiple platforms, ecosystems, toolsets, etc.

Quite candidly There are not many pr or ad agency firms that know how to execute across these areas and have a proven track record.

Botttom line is you have to live breathe eat and sleep this stupp to be an excellent practitioner of the highest level. As an example go google me and see how many places you can find me. ;)

Cheers!

Rodney Rumford
CEO Gravitational Media

I'm not so sure it's as easy as you say. Even if the firm itself isn't involved as a whole, many of its employees probably are.

I have been blogging for a very long time, even if it hasn't been in an official capacity at Schwartz. The same goes for others within our organization. We also have very active people on Facebook, Linked In, Flickr and in a variety of other communities.

Yes, I agree that from a corporate point there is more that every PR firm can do, but part of this is also knowing what tools are right for you and your audience.

Tom is right. PR firms need to practice what they preach. I understand the argument equating PR firm blogs and sausage-making, but that is not a reason not to have at least one corp blog.

It also isn't good enough to have employees that are avid personal bloggers. Managing a corporate blog / bloggers is a whole different ball of wax.

The key takeaway is engagement. PR firms preach it, but are they doing it themselves? Not nearly enough firms are as engaged as they advise their clients to be.

Tom,

You asked for examples of PR agencies' blogs. Here is a link to Hill & Knowlton's blog, which includes links to employees' blogs:

http://blogs.hillandknowlton.com/blogs/

Tiffany

Thanks for your comments, many good points.

I think that what it comes down to is that PR firms need to be using the new/social media tools that they recommend to their clients. But I know that this is not the case with most PR firms out there.

Looks like you've hit on a sensitive issue here. ;)

Some people feel like you've pigeonholed social PR down to blogging. Some people feel like because they lost interest in blogging, so has everyone else. Some people are expressing that it's not uncommon for the cobbler's kids to have no shoes (in other words they're too busy helping other people with their blogs to do their own).

I'll say this, I learned a ton more about blogging after I started blogging myself several years ago. Now that I know what I know, I wouldn't take services from a PR firm that doesn't have experience blogging.

Blogging is still extremely relevant, especially when used in combination with other channels like Twitter and social networks. Anyone that tells you otherwise is either 1) Not good at it, or 2) Constantly distracted by the new shiny in front of them. I mean, email newsletters are about as old as it gets, and many businesses still get a ton of value from them.

And, while blogging isn't a complete social web presence, it certainly is the anchor. Services like Twitter, social networks, and mobile networking are great ways to stay in touch with your contacts. But you look amateur if those touch points don't lead back to a blog. You need your anchor to be the part of your social web presence that you own. As a business, that domain connects back to your enterprise presence, such as an online store or corporate website.

This is a great time of innovation for the PR industry. The concept of building relationships for and with clients hasn't changed, but the game has shifted from an exclusive to an inclusive process. We've been exploring similar issues on our blog, and would love to have you keep your eye on us, Voce. :) It would be great to get some insights from you as comments on some of our posts about social PR.

Thanks for the thought-provoking post, Tom! Look forward to more like it.

I'm a big believer that you need to be a creator of social media to truly understand it.

In my definition social media allows people to fluidly move from being audience to author without the need to know coding (thank you social software!) How can you really understand social media if you restrict yourself to be only an observer. You have to experience the work, agony and joy of creation to really know both sides of social media.

And I've put my time and personal action behind this. Back in '04, I began experimenting with social media behind the firewall - with both a Wiki to replace our traditional intranet and a blog. (I started out with an MSN Spaces account restricted only to the people in my MSN friends list - social media on training wheels.)

In '05, I came out in public with my blog http://www.propr.ca and Terry Fallis along with David Jones (then a Thornley Fallis employee) started what has become Canada's most-listened to PR podcast, http://www.insidepr.ca.

At the same time, we encouraged all of the people in the company to get involved in blogging (that was pre-Facebook, pre-Twitter). And as people began to post, we reshaped our company Website, http://www.thornleyfallis.com, so that the most recent posts from each of our employee blogs are front and centre. In this way, we give visitors a chance to know our company through the thoughts of the people who work here, not through brochure ware.

After three years I listen to people who observe social media pronouncing their views. And I politely keep my opinion to myself. But I'll say it here. Very few of the people who aren't active creators of social media really understand the nuances of the social media culture.

Social media authorship is the entry fee for social media credibility.

Tom - I've always enjoyed your PRWatch series, as it gives very well-grounded perspective that we need to stay relevant and valuable.

I agree with you that agencies should practice what we preach on social media. I blog for Lois Paul & Partners blog, and work with all of our other contributors. We all have learned so much from this (and are still learning) and we reference our own experience when advising clients on their efforts. Many of them are just now thinking about starting a blog, so they value what we tell them about our own experience.

Hi Tom -

I agree with you, as you'd expect. As one of your other commenters noted, an agency blog is becoming the price of admission to be able to discuss Social Media.

FWIW I've been blogging at PR-Squared for 4 years this month. We also maintain an official Employee Blog (2 years, I think) at unspun.shiftcomm.com and just started a new, unofficial employee blog at snackablepr.com. And all of SHIFT's Twitterers are accessible in a Yahoo Pipe: http://tinyurl.com/6f2yuu

But there are certainly OTHER fantastic PR agency blogs, like "Voce Nation" (featuring long-time blogstars like Mike Manuel and Josh Hallett, etc.), and Geoff Livingston's "BuzzBin." Bitepr also has a decent blog, "bitemarks."

Slowly but surely, most agencies are "getting it."

Tom, there are tens of PR firms that are blogging, and hundreds of PR practitioners writing PR/social media blogs - you can browse a pretty comprehensive list at http://blog.basturea.com/pr-blogs-list/

Hmmm.. we blog... friendfeed.. facebook.. twitter... share items on a google reader...

yup, I think we know our new media.

http://www.beaupre.com/blog/

"Whitewater rafting suggestion 1: Know the rapids. Rapids are classified from 1 to 5. 1 is a little more violent than a calm river while class 5 rapids are for serious pros only. Find a level that suits your experience and fitness."
(source: http://tiny.cc/0OXb3)

As I watch social media become the 'in thing' for PR firms to add to their roster of services, I cringe at the thought of serious mistakes that could be made by consultants and firms who don't first take the time to bathe in the waters they're navigating. Blogs are like Class 1 rapids. Until you've taken the time to understand how to navigate Class 1 rapids, you shouldn't try steering the boat. First, put your lifejacket on, sit somewhere in the middle and get used to the ups and downs until you're comfortable riding the beast.

Your clients will thank you for it and all the other real whitewater rafters will thank you for not blowing their reputation by claiming to be an expert as you steer the boat straight for the rocks.

Hmm ... is that pushing a simile too far? :)

Michelle: I like it!

What it comes down to is the old Silicon Valley expression "eat your own dog food." It's not appetizing but it is necessary.

Otherwise, you are just "inhaling your own exhaust fumes" or "smoking your own stash."

I'm a little late to the convo here but appreciate your post. Blogging is just the beginning, IMHO. I think behavior and participation on the other social networks is very telling regarding how much a PR firm "gets it." Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. How are firms participating in these communities? Do they understand they are not news streams? Are they seen as spammers? Do they just assign junior execs to keep an eye out for self gain or do they *really* use and understand their value?

Blogs are important as well - I wish I had more time to personally write on ours - but we also do a lot within these other networks that benefit our clients (as well as our own business). We have learned a ton through these communities.

Would love to continue the conversation and also meet you in person next time I'm out West.

Thanks again,
Christine Perkett
President/Founder, PerkettPR
@missusP; @PerkettPR
www.perkettprsuasion.com

Hi Tom

I agree that a PR agency needs to know the tools before they can use them for clients.

I started blogging back in 2003 and I'm still going. I do well with teaching others to blog.

In frustration I developed a small newsroom with rss feeds in 2004 because I could not find one at that time that did exaclty what I wanted. Now PRESSfeed is used by companies and other agencies.

I have been interested in podcasting but had not done it much myself, so consequently I've not been done much about helping others to do it. I just got started with a great product and now that I can use it myself and I am having success with it, I know I can get others to do the same.

Sal