I was one of four panelists this morning at a meeting of the South Sound chapter of PRSA and thoroughly enjoyed the exchange of information from the panelists and those in attendance. The meeting had a topic, but not an agenda, so it was able to flow freely and explore specific issues. It was a good format.

In advance, I was sent a series of questions to ponder in advance. Since I sketched out some quick thoughts on them, I figured I might as well post them in my blog since we didn't have time to get to all the questions at the meeting.

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PRSA South Sound Event
Topic: User-Generated Media - Using it to Your Advantage
Other panelists:
Frank Shaw, Worldwide President, Waggener Edstrom
Nathan Kaiser, CEO,nPost
Paul Ellis, Metropolitan Development Director, Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber
Moderator: Adrienne Lenhart, Program Director, VOXUS Inc.

Questions (from Lenhart, answers by me in advance of the meeting):

Is there a way to "test the waters" and what does that kind of test look like? Answer from both a high-budget/large company and low-budget/start-up perspective.

With such a diverse collection of content, it's easy to be experimental. But you have to let go of absolute control and polish. If it's rough around the edges it will be more authentic.

Authenticity is critical: can you get the customers or clients to produce it? Can you make it a school project?

What should a company expect in terms of results? Specifically how do you evaluate the effectiveness of participating in these discussions?

Engagement is the key. Being part of the discussion is the goal, whether the comments are exactly what you want or not. You want to be talked about and seen as relevant. Users of UGC communities believe in their community, and if to be able to "infiltrate" that community, you have to appear authentic and credible.

What are some common pitfalls and traps that companies make when deciding to add user-generated media to their marketing efforts?

Don't sell, don't spin. Contribute to the community something that particular community values. If you're pitching a blogger, give them something that will help them create compelling content for their readers. Figure out how to help the blogger.

How does a company know when it is ready to open itself up, for example, start a corporate blog. Who from the company should be blogging? What are a few top traits of a great blogger; what are a few of the worst traits?

Almost every company should be considering blogging. Transparency – warts and all – is the currency of credibility today.

But you have to make it interesting. You don't want a blog to be too press releasy. Find a way to make it fun. Include real people – employees or customers – so that, at a minimum their mom and best friend will visit.

A great blogger is someone with an eye for easy content. I've seen a few of the A-list bloggers write about the blog post that's right in front of them. And I see it all the time at the newspaper.

What local companies/organizations out there are doing it really well? why?

Paul Ellis' BIA blog is probably the best local example of an official blog. The TNT's efforts with its Inside the Newsroom blog (and to a lesser extent, my blog) are OK. But the TNT's other blogs are doing really well.

The Grand has done a nice job by putting their film festival on YouTube. I haven't been to the festival, but I've seen some of the films online and so their brand value has increased dramatically in my mind.

Sitecrafting has a good blog, if you're a coder. But instead of using it to brag about their projects, they offer solutions and actual code for others to use. So they're giving their readers something substantial – not just marketing spin.

Hotel Morano started a blog called Looking Glass to market the ongoing remodel and rebirth, but did it in a way that is hopefully helpful to users, not just promotional. It covers fun topics and other travel-related links.

How do we as communications professionals balance the need to control the message with the very uncontrolled, fast-paced world of user-generated media? When should we, and when should we not, be "gatekeepers."

Hands off, unless it's absolutely inapporpriate. The life of these communities is the openness. If a newspaper can relax control, anyone can.

What advice do you have for a communications professional whose management team is not on board with marketing efforts focused on user generated media?

Keep a steady drumbeat going. Start a del.icio.us bookmark for your company and collect examples of successful implementations of what you're hoping to do. Get key decision makers to start an RSS feed to an influencial blog like Seth Godin or Steve Rubel.

What's one piece of advice you have for a communications professional that wants to learn more about user generated media or is just starting to experiment with it.

Do it yourself. Start a blog, even if you have no intention of using it professionally. Shoot and edit video and upload it to YouTube. Upload photos to Flickr. Get a Facebook account. Find blogs or sites that write about something you're passionate about and start contributing comments. Make a habit of visiting the leading UGC sites. Read the discussion on wikipedia articles.