DIY PR: Bob Villa Doesn't Always Know Best

Guy Kawasaki's blog has had a couple of interesting posts on guest posts on PR. The first explains why client-agency relationships sour. The second more important post, on DIY PR, is authored by the CEO of Redfin. He has done a terrific job stewarding his corporate brand on his own. For more, read this Wired piece.

Naturally, this sparked a conversation in blogs, which Jeremiah Owyang summarizes here. My column in AdAge next week touches on the threat of DIY marketing to agency margins. It's real in some industries, but I want to take a broader view here.

DIY PR is definitely a viable option for lots of organizations - especially startups. If DIY media is such a pervasive force, there's no reason that these same technologies can't be utilized to build brand awareness at a fraction of the cost of what an large agency charges.

However, do not be fooled. Web-based entrepreneurs have a better shot at doing their own PR than the rest of the business world. They eat and sleep on the web. This puts them at a considerable advantage in their understanding of the total landscape and who shakes trees. Further, they go to conferences where bloggers and media hang out. They go not specifically to meet these influencers but to learn how to run their business better. The relationships they make at these events are an ancillary benefit. So, net, it's not a major investment in time for this crew to build relationships that carry their brands forward.

But for everyone else, there is a significant cost to doing your own PR. For starters, time. It takes a lot of time to understand all of the various professional and citizen media venues, how they tick and what will make your story stand out. If you're selling shampoo then you're one of 50+ brands on a shelf. How do you differentiate yourself? This is where the pros come in and shine. Our experience and network of relationships can expedite the process to helping to build your brand, not to mention prepare you for potential crises. You won't get that on your own.

So net, even though DIY is a viable option for lots of homeowners who bow to Bob Vila, lots of people who are more than happy to call in the contractors. These pros haven't exactly gone hungry during the housing bust and some stores like Home Depot recognize that there's value in working with them. The same holds in PR. There's more than one road to follow.

Comments

[Max Kalehoff]

Steve,

While there's more than one way to go, sometimes the needs are nuanced and those nuances help determine which road, or, more often, which roads (plural) you take. For example, some PR roles require very high expertise over the subject matter. Take my case, for example, heading up marketing for a number of marketing and media information companies. Over my career, I've hired agencies for block-and-tackle media relations and some big picture strategy. However, there were many high-value areas where PR crossed over into data analytics, statistics and methodology, and that's where agencies have always fallen short -- in those hybrid roles where extreme technical expertise, coupled with creativity, is needed.

Another area lies in the fact that communications management, including PR, is becoming more of a distributed and open organizational function. Sure, there should be strong leadership and some centralization, but the fact is that PR is more a discipline and something we all do versus something any single people are. In other words, every single person -- employees, contractors and agencies -- are partly PR execs for the company. And in an age of more open communications, organizational stakeholders are demanding more direct, fluid and transparent communication. There's certainly an opportunity for agencies to embrace, strategize, counsel and execute in this new world, but I guess my point is that it's not "agency OR DYI."

(Disclosure: the company I work for has a relationship with your company, and I've been a client of your company twice in the past at other companies.)

Cheers,
Max

[Matt Hamilton]

Thanks for pointing out an interesting article and adding an interesting perspective. I confess that I like to view myself as a do-it-your-selfer but often end up calling someone when it comes down to it - especially when it's time consuming or really important.

[Lyndar]

Steve,

The "I-can-do-it-myself" attitude is what makes entrepreneurs fun. However, as a 9-year veteran working with founding CEOs, I'm confident saying that even the most Web-savvy ones measurably benefit from consistent, professional PR help. The problem is that a $15K+ a month agency fee feels like too much to justify in the early, boot-strap stages, while effective freelancers and even good internal people are difficult to find. It's a mismatch that the PR industry has yet to solve effectively, and it contributes to the resentment demonstrated in the comments to Guy's posts.

Lyndar

[Sean]

Go Bob, Go!

[wow powerleveling]

Writing and distributing online press releases is a great way to attract potential customers to your website. This is because a matter of hours after you have distributed them across the internet, they could be picked up by major networks like Google and Yahoo! News and then start to appear in the natural results of the search engines.

[Harro!]

There is a time and place for DIYPR and ProPR. Are there any measurables that can help differential the two?

[SEO]

Mind you, I think it is time poor CEOs stopped being able to hide behind PR anyway. Maybe a bit of DIY PR would sort out the great from the pathetic CEOs. I don't agree with Replica Rolex there's no reason to prove what he said.