This document provides advice for engaging influencers in a post-PR world using non-traditional methods. It suggests being human, stopping selling and viewing influence as participation rather than marketing. It also advises having conversations others fear, making people remember you, and not fearing corporate rules. The overall message is that traditional PR is dead and a new approach is needed based on authenticity, humanity and participation over selling.

1. Engaging Influencers in a Post-PR World Using Non-Traditional
Methods of Abstraction and Intuition
Mike Maney
@the_spinmd
maneydigital.com

2. Who the !@#$ are we kidding?

3. Don’t Be a
PR Fluffer.#noprfluffers
Mike Maney
@the_spinmd
maneydigital.com

4. I promise a picture of real barenaked ladies
before this presentation is over.

5. It only seems like traditional
MARKETING / PR / ADVERTISING
are dead.

7. #1: Walk the talk.
“The runway for when a PR person
hands-off to the actual expert has now
gotten longer.” - @helmke

8. Lead your spokespeople to water.

9. Live the firehose.
Love the firehose.

10. #2: Be human.

11. SOCIAL MEDIA

12. Don’t take yourself
(or your business)
so seriously

14. #3: Stop Selling
In many cases, the best marketing is no marketing.

15. When everyone else is
Don't view influence
selling something, be the
as a marketing
one who’s different...the
opportunity; view it as
one who sees another
a byproduct of
human, not just another
participating.
customer.

16. Early in the games, Nike scored a public relations coup after Egyptian
athletes were discovered parading in counterfeit Nike warm-up outfits
because they couldn't afford authentic gear. Rather than complain about
the piracy, Nike offered free gear for the team.
http://bottomline.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/10/13205163-nike-takes-marketing-gold-with-
neon-yellow-shoes
(“it” being the right thing)

17. • Active in local* social media communities,
not just their own.
• Embraced community.
• Visible around town.
• Makes me want to do business with them
even though they’ve never directly
marketed to me.
Doylestown Bike Works
@DTownBikeWorks

18. #4: Always go big.

19. Get mad at
complacency.

20. Be helpful.

21. Participate, don’t sponsor.
To their credit, the primary concern of
Laura, Mike and the gang over at Alcatel-
Lucent from Day 1 of our discussions has
been about maintaining the credibility and
neutrality of Glue.

22. and, for the love of the
Flying Spaghetti Monster...
HAVE FUN!

24. First stop, @riverhorsebrew

25. Next stop, @dogfishbeer

26. ...and then @OldBurnsideBrew

27. And a final stop at @harpoon_brewery

28. #5: Don’t fear corporate jail

29. Sometimes this is the
slide you need.

31. #6: Have the
conversations
everyone else is
afraid to have.

32. The first rule of Flight Club is don’t talk about Flight Club.
A salon-style gathering of industry influencers organized to advise a major airline on how
to best build out its API/developer program.
How It Positioned gathering as ultra-exclusive. Invitees represented a cross-section of who’s who’s from across
the API landscape (Yobongo, Twitter, PayPal, Gowalla, Foursquare). Included top industry blogger from
RWW to participate/chronicle. Scheduled around SXSW. Held off-site. Surprised participants with schwag
Worked tie-in.
Customer heard first-hand how the developer community and potential partners would/would not use its
The Value APIs. Attendees got first-look, first-access to potential industry-changing API program and formed
exclusive advisory team to client.

33. Transformational leaders don't start by denying the world around them. Instead, they
describe a future they'd like to create instead.
Denying the truth about relative market share, imperial power or the scientific method
helps no one.
Gandhi didn't pretend the British weren't dominating his country, and Feynman didn't
challenge Einstein's theory of relativity or the laws of thermodynamics.
It's okay to say, "this is going to be difficult." And it's productive to point out, "our
product isn't as good as it should be yet."
The problem with Orwellian talking heads, agitprop, faux news and Ballmer-like
posturing is that they take away a foundation for a genuine movement to occur,
because once we start denying facts, it's difficult to know when to stop. Tell us where
we are, tell us where we're going. But if you can't be clear about one, it's hard to buy
into the other.
-- Seth Godin

34. #7: Make ‘em
remember you.

35. Be awesome. Not boring.
Take a
Have a
damn
freakin’ story.
position.
Care about something
beyond your product.
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/here-secret-fakegrimlock-video-about-minimum-viable-personality.php#comment-665402310
@ablaze Jon Mitchell

36. 5 last things to remember

37. INTERMISSION
Which do you think @sogrady would rather drink?

38. Be always on.

39. Don’t overdo it.

40. Influencers are everywhere.

41. Don’t be a dick.

43. Ready to see some
barenaked ladies?
Hell yeah!

44. It’s been, one week since you...
*Barenaked Ladies on stage in Las Vegas

45. YOU’VE GOT
questions? I’VE GOT
answers.
rambling responses that sound like
@the_spinmd or mike@maneydigital.com