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My Little Personal Pilgrimage

Posted on Aug 12 , 2006 in PR & PR Education & Thoughts

It started early this week with a comment I made on Kami Huyse's blog Communication Overtones expressing my dislike for the word Stractic.?Ç I still don't like it, mostly because it feels irregular.?Ç However, my main reason for disliking it, which I drolled out in a comment, was because I didn't think it was needed.

There are many strategies and many tactics. Each must be pulled out at the right time. So for some campaigns we may need to include some advertising or marketing to help it succeed, just as you might include social media. It's important to remember what you hope to accomplish and then find the best way to make it happen. ... I do have to say I'm not sure about the word "Stractic." I would feel better just calling social media a Strategy, with the various tools, blogs, Wiki, etc., joining the list of successful Tactics.

I failed to see that social media might be used as a 'tactic' when working with a client to use customer marketing and consumer evangelism as a 'strategy'.?Ç Kami took me behind the woodshed, so to speak (I'm okay, the spanking didn't hurt too much):

Michael; We are okay with you not caring for the word stractic. We called it that because a conversational method of talking with your stakeholders can be considered a strategy, with the tactic being social media. True, you could also just call them up one-by-one on the telephone. Anyway, we were just having a little fun.

For me that comment helped me plainly see that I'm not sure I truly understand the strategic and tactical makeup of word-of-mouth marketing.?Ç So I'm going on a walkabout and plan to spend a few months exploring the topic.?Ç A sort of pilgrimage to find the truth about consumer evangelism and its power and relevance to public relations.?Ç Whatever I find I'll share with the class.?Ç BTW, there's too much going on in the Las Vegas courts right now to allow me to continue exploring the public relations efforts associated with them, even though some of the news generated is very popular as of late.?Ç I didn't talk too much about the job anyway, but I think I'll drop 'courts' from my list of topics.

So I'm off on my quest.?Ç Say hi if you meet me on the trail.

  • http://overtonecomm.blogspot.com/ Kami Huyse

    Hey, I can’t wait to see what you come up with. To set the record straight, I do see that these things aren’t clean cut and can sometimes be considered a strategy and sometimes a tactic. We were having fun with “stractic,” so I won’t fight for it too hard. You know, a late night at the coffee house, but it can be one or both, depending on the circumstance. Oh, and on that journey. I bet you find there isn’t one definitive answer. Just my first instinct :-)

  • http://ike.pigott.name/occam Ike

    Hey Michael – small world. I was the one who coined “stractic.” It was one of those moments when you’re struggling to express an ephemeral truth, and this gestalt was pretty darn close to what we meant.

    Yeah, it’s a Frankenword. Nothing’s easy anymore.

  • http://wordymouth.com/2007/03/26/sea-salt-wine-country-and-public-service-blogging/ wordymouth.com » Sea Salt, Wine Country and Public Service Blogging

    [...] It is amazing how a little vacation and some good food, containing the neccessary nutrients often missing from my diet, can lead to moments of clarity.?Ç Somewhere between Sonoma and Novato, Calif. it occurred to me how to jump start my blog and find a new purpose.?Ç It’s actually been sitting underneath waiting to gurgle up, but I was holding it down.?Ç The epiphany: what is the connection between social media, public relation stratics (you’re welcome Ike Piggott) and public service.?Ç You don’t hear too much about social media being used by public service agencies.?Ç It’s right up there with discussions about SEO optimatization and statistical tracking of hits and users. [...]