Comet Branding - Branding | PR | Social Media

What PR pros can learn from waiting tables: Listening to the conversation

A few weeks ago, some friends and I decided to meet up after work/school and grab a drink at Comet Cafe in the lower east side. While chatting and catching up on each others’ lives, we starting telling stories of what each of us had done that weekend. One of the highlights of my weekend was a particular bar that I had visited on Sunday evening called Koz’s Mini-Bowl on the corner of 7th and Becher. Now Koz’s may seem like your typical neighborhood bar, but one thing makes it extra special: four 12-foot long bowling lanes with local teens playing the role of pin monkeys. While I’m telling the story of my weekend, the bartender chimes in and asks if I was talking about Koz’s Mini-Bowl. I nod in approval and from there on, we collectively start telling each other all of our favorite hidden gems around the city of Milwaukee.

Following this interaction, we continued to have a conversation with the bartender and received some great recommendations of places to visit. My friends and I had an enjoyable experience at Comet Cafe, which was enhanced because our bartender was eavesdropping on our conversation.

In my opinion, the same is true in social media. Just look at Twitter. How many tweets are sent each day? I don’t even consider myself a highly active Twitterer but according to my TweetStats, I average 2.6 tweets per day. Multiply that times the number of users on Twitter and you have a lot. If one of those updates is something negative about a business, it’s important to respond immediately. By not responding, it might show to your followers that you’re not listening. Social media has given companies a tremendous opportunity in terms of customer service. The ability to listen and respond to the online conversation personifies a business and that personality is something that I look for as a consumer.

Likewise, the conversation is constantly happening in traditional PR. Editors and publishers build out content calendars and journalists are out reporting. In PR, it’s our job to listen to that conversation and decide if our client has the right voice to contribute. There are even Web sites dedicated to connecting reporters with proper sources. Help a Reporter Out is an excellent example. Through this Web site, journalists receive the expert opinions that they need to construct a credible story and sources get the earned publicity that they need to grow a business. Each day, HARO sends out three emails from journalists requesting expertise insight on a particular issue. If a client has some information that will enhance the story, we pitch it. It’s the definition of win-win.

Do you look for and support companies with an online presence?
Any personal stories of social media interaction with a business?

Tags: Andrew, Andrew Wiech, Andy Wiech, bowling, Comet Cafe, HARO, Koz's Mini Bowl, Listening, Milwaukee, PR, Public Relations, social media, Twitter, Wiech