If you have one shred of doubt left about the business value of LinkedIn…….
23 September 2011 By Northern Lights
If you have one shred of doubt left about the business value of LinkedIn…….
Read this! Just see what discussions can be developing about your business behind your back – and how, if you are alert, you can dive into the conversation and pick things up with your customers.
At the weekend I spotted a great discussion on the CIPR LinkedIn group. Anne Nicholls, a freelance PR consultant posted this comment below. There were 18 comments which I opened and read – it’s always useful to know what media databases others are using.
How do freelance PRs manage without paying for a media database when working for cash-strapped clients who can’t afford one?
A few people were being rather snotty to poor Anne about the need to get charities to pay for this – but lots of people had really good ideas about media databases. Two I had never heard of – PRMax and Mediagility.
I decided to thank everyone and left this comment.
• HI Anne
This is a great question and such helpful answers. I run a small agency and we pay something like £5k a year for Gorkana – we researched the market two years ago but didn’t come across either PRMax or Mediagility. Sounds like we should check them out so thanks to everyone for this useful info……
By Tuesday morning I had a (very nice) email from Gorkana
Just saw your post on CIPR’s LinkedIn page and just thought I’d check in to make sure you’re happy with the service you’re receiving from Gorkana. There are obviously cheaper alternatives in the marketplace, however we are priced higher due to the quality of our data, our customer service, as well as benefits from the integration of our planning, monitoring and evaluation sites.
How’s your diary looking the back end of October? Very happy to plan a trip up north to see you.
And then at 11am on that same Tuesday morning we had a call from PR Newswire, inviting me as a guest to a conference in Manchester on the subject of databases!
So in the space of just three days
– I have been publicly discussing our own supplier plus other customers – and publicly telling Gorkana that their price is a threat. How much would it cost you and how long would it take you to get that kind of open, honest feedback about your products?
– I have found out about two competitor products which sound interesting – and come highly recommended from users
– Our existing supplier has responded very well and can take immediate action
– Another competitor has spotted an opportunity and jumped in with an invitation and making direct contact
The challenge for us all is – are we monitoring the places where these discussions are going on and do our teams have the skills and resources to respond to the threats and opportunities?
