Transparency and agency-placed content on UGC sites

Barbarainfluence, Influencer marketing, Public relations, social media

Transparency is one of the words that has become a victim of Web 2.0.  Everyone has their own idea of what transparency means in social media, and what constitutes embracing transparency.  A good example: the recent MobileCrunch expose on Reverb Communications and the Apple App Store. The plot is simple enough:  an integrated PR-marketing agency has paid staff (whether employees … Read More

Don’t turn decision influencers into fans

BarbaraDecision-makers, influence, Influencer engagement, influencer program

It’s tempting to think of influencer programs as master plans for turning objective decision influencers into your company’s bona fide fans. The truth is, that’s not a desirable goal for your influencer programs. Valuable influencers maintain a high level of objectivity. Some call it integrity. Others describe it as independence or ethics. Whatever label you prefer, compromising it is a … Read More

Rob Enderle on Ethics and Industry Analysts

Barbaraanalysts, Industry analysts

Rob Enderle assesses PR agency and vendor concerns over industry analyst integrity and ethics in an insightful column published by TechNewsWorld. In the column, Mr. Enderle offers a well-rounded perspective on the evolution of the industry analyst practices in question, and describes the typical industry analyst perspective on potential conflicts of interest. The column expands on his comments reported in … Read More