The Page Wonders: Why Google Beats Everyone at Public Relations

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Why Google Beats Everyone at Public Relations
posted by Craig Oda at Tuesday, November 04, 2008

The future of PR is being created today, on sunny sidewalks and corporate cafes in Mountain View. The Google campus is germinating the future of information access and the future of public relations. There is no PR super-genius at Google inventing a new type of PR. The innovations in public information management comes from the Google campus itself, the world's ultimate PR water cooler.

Type the word "browser" into Google or MSN search. Chrome pops up in the top three results, ahead of Apple Safari, Internet Explorer, and Flock. Google News results for "browser," show Chrome in the top two rankings due to a Beta 3 announcement -- well ahead of Firefox. Since when is a Beta 3 considered news? Is this 1994 and I'm reading about Netscape? On a YouTube search for "web browser" Chrome is the top search result and the Android (Google phone) browser is the second result. How is this level of visibility possible for a beta, feature-incomplete version of a browser that doesn't work with Mac OS X or Linux?

Google PR hits on all media channels in parallel - blogs, video, forums and traditional media outreach. Having worked with Google on PR for their main developer conference, my impression is that they don't have a large PR army of staff or consultants. They are efficient. Google doesn't need to pay for an army of marketing professionals because their internal staff and the online community help them get the message out.

To understand the distributed nature of Google's PR efforts, look at the Google Chrome launch.

Messaging
Google locked down three message points and pushed them out through all channels. The browser brings web applications closer to desktop applications by improving speed, stability, and security.

Bloggers Create Three Media Hype Waves

On Labor Day at 10pm, Sundar Pichai, the VP of product management and Linus Upson, engineering director, launched Google Chrome on Blogger on the Official Google Blog. This was ahead of the official Google press conference and press release. By Tuesday, the next working day for press, the web was already buzzing with Google Chrome news. There were already thousands of blog posts, a Wikiped ia entry with hundred edits, and active chatter on Twitter before most professional reporters could get the official information. This resulted in a triple wave of coverage, first by the online community based on the blog and rumors, second by the mainstream press, then third by the online community again once they gained access to the official information and product. By the end of the day there were 50,000 blog posts and 6,000 news stories on Google Chrome. Today, 2 months later, there are 450,000 blog posts.

The first media wave was heighten

ed by Google's clever use of Scott McCloud, a well-known professional comic artist, to produce a Comic Book on Google Chrome. The comic book was physically mailed to reporters and bloggers, arriving in Europe one day ahead of the launch. Although Google claims that this was in error, the result was that starting in Europe, bloggers scanned the comic book and distributed it online ahead of the official launch.

YouTube Triple Play

Google released three types of YouTube videos at the launch of Chrome: 1) Technical HowTo videos that were an average of 20 seconds long; 2) technical vision human story , a 4:50 minute video featuring their development team (currently at 650,000 views); 3) the Google Chrome press conference.

Multitude of Media Channels

Google Chrome Media Center - an online press site with links to the official press release, B-roll (broadcast) and YouTube videos, logos, and screenshots.
Google Chrome Help Documentation - official help documentation from Google with links to video embedded in the documentation.
Chrome Help Forum - online community-based help.
Chromium - open source site for the project behind Google Chrome.
Online community development with Blog and Google Groups discussion areas for open source developers.

Google organizes key message points and uses free online services to amplify their messages. Everyone can freely use Google Groups, Blogger, YouTube, and search analysis tools like Google Analytics, and Google Webmaster Tools. The secrets of visibility hide in the open. Now, it's up to the rest of us to open our eyes.

Labels: Google, online public relations, social media marketing

12 Comments:

Anonymous said...: It's hard to believe that in '99, we knew Google as merely the engine that powered Yahoo's search functionality. Then we started to use Google for all of our searches because it was just the fastest possible way to connect with what we were looking for. Both the rate and quality of all the free new "beta" information services that Google has put out since then is just incredible.

But what's sort of scary today is that many people now think that Google IS the Internet (the same way that many AOL users thought that the browser experience they had w/ in the confines of AOL was the Internet). Maybe a bad analogy since AOL was so crappy, and Google is so awesome. But the point is that if data does not turn up at the top of a Google search result, it doesn't even make it on most people's radar now. And that's pretty unfortunate for the people who solely rely on Google to find what they are looking for - because there are many important news sources and entities that Google does not currently capture.

Not to mention - it used to be that the right side of Google search results was all advertisements, while the left side was mosty non-paid content. Is it me, or is the lion's share of the left side increasingly going not to the most *relevant* results, but to the results with the largest commercial interests. I don't think it's a coincidence.

I agree with all of your points about Google's brilliance in its own marketing and the amazing clout they have as a PR force (and the importance for PR people to investigate / master all of the amazing, free tools that Google offers).

But I was on my way home yesterday listening to KNBR 680 and heard a commercial from Yahoo advising fantasy sports owners that the next time they want to check for fantasy news for their roster, to "instead of Googling it, why not actually come to Yahoo to find the best answer?" or something to that affect. The point being that Google does NOT always have the best info, and that "Googling it" isn't something that replaces picking the best source of information for a given requirement.

Currently, the more PR folks know about how to manipulate Google results to their clients' advantages, the better - because Google is without question the center of most PR metrics that matter. But hopefully that doesn't mean PR people are going to get so comfortable "Googling it" that they forget to keep their eyes open to other important influences off of Google's revenue, err, "relevance" radar.

Great post. Reminded me that I need to stop postponing Chrome adoption and get on it! There's a big opportunity cost for anyone in marketing, PR or sales who fall asleep at the wheel and neglect to start using the latest and greatest from Google.; November 4, 2008 at 8:21 PM
Anonymous said...: nice wrap up of the tactics. i agree, you don't need an army of consultants to do this kind of thing effectively... but two things you do need to just let rip like this are i) to have web and online PR in your DNA (most firms don't / Google does) ii) an audience that cares (Google sneezes, and I care / Acme Co launches a product.... Acme who!?). That said - you're spot on. This is the way to do it - finding relevancy and grabbing attention is always going to be the hard part (and you might just need a consultant to help you with that bit); November 5, 2008 at 5:29 AM
Craig Oda said...: Roger thanks for the comments. Looks like there's a need for companies like Content and Motion. I went to your site and was impressed with the range of offerings, SEO, social media, online PR, content optimisation. These are things that we're working on at Page One too. However, it seems like you've really thought things out. I'd love to hear more from you about the success of these types of campaigns in the UK.; November 5, 2008 at 7:29 AM
Craig Oda said...: Travis, I agree with your point that for many people, if data does not turn up at the top of a Google search result, it doesn't even make it on the radar.

However, I'm not sure if it is unfortunate, or simply how things are. You make a sharp observation that the organic search results on the left side of the results page are becoming increasingly commercial. I believe that this is because companies are pumping out more content online and are engaging in blog promotion campaigns. Whether it is intentional or not, companies are forced to integrate some basic SEO strategies into their marketing campaigns.

You're dead-on that Google doesn't always return the right information. However, we're all in agreement that an understanding of how the Google search ranking works is critical to public relations and marketing.

I went to your site, IT Database, and it looks really interesting. I'm dying to get access to the PR database when it's ready. Please keep in touch.; November 5, 2008 at 7:37 AM
BP said...: Great post. I see three interesting concepts that in part drove this successful event (I say in part as, afterall it is Google as Roger points out, we all pay attention):

1) Use of open content. As you and Travis point out everything they provided was (eventually) open content. This will become the norm, imo. From inception vendors will need to provide all collateral as massively available open online content (that's what I'm calliing it ;-)).

2) Acceptance of Risk. Providing the content as open is your army. It's also a risk. There is no PR army wielding NDA's or spinning the facts. It's all open for interpretation from the get go. It's a risk that I'd like to see more companies, especially startups, take.

3) Use of public tools. As you point out, all the Google tools. Also, don't forget Wikipedia in all of this. They are, imo, the largest open content project on the web. Why not use for product launches?

It will be very interesting to see the next company that takes this approach to a product launch. Someone will give it a try. Will their success metric be a return at the top of a Google search result or maybe hundreds of thousands of blog posts.; November 7, 2008 at 6:57 AM
Craig Oda said...: Bill, thanks for your comment. I like how you identify "risk" as one of the important considerations with this type of PR. Sure, the benefits can be huge, but the technique could also backfire and spin out of control.

One important way to minimize the risk is to set a good messaging platform. I worked with Google on the launch of their main developer conference, Google I/O, and gained some insight into how their PR engine works. One of the most impressive things about the Google marketing engine is how disciplined they were about the core messages that were brought to the public, the bloggers, media, and online influencers.

While it is easy to claim to be on-message during interviews and outbound email communication, it's often like herding cats. In my experience at Page One, many executives start throwing out rogue messages when chatting with reporters.

Regarding the use of public tools, it is happening right now. We actually go beyond what Google does in our product launches now for our clients. We take the best ideas from Google - YouTube, Blogger, search optimization, and combine it with other techniques using Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, TubeMogul, and others. We also go beyond using the analytics tools like Google Analytics, Google News, and Google Blogs. We combine these with a bunch of other analysis tools including Radian6 and Meltwater.

So, while Google's knowledge of their own tools gives them a huge advantage, it may also prove to be a hindrance to them when other tools become better for specific tasks.; November 7, 2008 at 8:05 AM
Anonymous said...: I would say the best example of any single marketing effort in terms of the WHOLE picture was the Obama campaign. Of course, they had 500M to do it -- but:

1 -- Every single person stayed on message. No leaks. No rogue elements. And even Biden mostly stayed on point. And the message was changed at the perfect time for each phase.

2 -- Use of social media, as well as just common sense stuff like you are almost forced to sign up for their email list on their home page.

3 -- Design -- every single brand asset was designed consistently and perfectly.

I'm sure there are a ton of books being written now about the Obama campaign -- though one on the integrated PR/marketing/web Strategy would be cool!

OK -- I'm off to Vegas for the weekend!; November 7, 2008 at 10:23 AM
Craig Oda said...: John, thanks again for your comments. I hope you have a great time in Vegas. Win big!

I haven't really studied the Obama campaign. Though, I know many PR people are following it closely and dissecting the major moves.

Just from reading your comment, it seems like getting clear messages and getting people to stay on message might be the new PR artform.

In the online world, we need new techniques to help people stay on message. I don't think consistency is going to come from fear or retribution. I believe that the way to keep people on message is to make the messages clear and obvious to begin with and then to consistently push them out to the community, especially the core community members that will then take the messages to a broader audience.; November 7, 2008 at 2:42 PM
Linda Rogers said...: The description of tactics is interesting but the fact that Google is now such a giant certainly helps them get the world's attention for anything that they do.; November 12, 2008 at 4:20 AM
Craig Oda said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; November 12, 2008 at 7:54 AM
Craig Oda said...: Linda, thank you for taking the time to read the blog and leaving a comment. I don't agree with the position that Google gets press simply because they are Google, a big, popular company.

I agree that this is partially true. However, Google Chrome gets much more press and blog activity than Microsoft Internet Explorer. Microsoft is a much bigger company than Google.

Microsoft has a market cap of $185B and sales of $65B. Google's market cap is $95B and their annual sales are $21B.

Microsoft IE actually gets more news coverage than Google Chrome. Today there are 5,500 news stories in the Google News cache on Internet Explorer or IE. There are only 1,150 stories on Google Chrome. There are roughly 2 million blogs on IE versus 500,000 for Chrome.

However, if I type "browser" into Google today, Chrome is in the top two browsers listed. Chrome is also the number 1 sponsored advertisement link. Internet Explorer is far down the list. On search.msn.com, Google Chrome is number 2 and IE is number 5.

I believe that most people now find information using search engines. The fact that Google understands search may be enough to overcome the fact that they are smaller company with less news coverage than Microsoft.; November 12, 2008 at 7:57 AM
Jenna said...: This is a really great post. The company sure does have its act together and I like how you point out its not because they have an army of marketing/PR folks or a huge budget. The coordination and online channels they leverage are quite clever. Thanks for the lesson!; November 12, 2008 at 5:27 PM

The Page Wonders

Why Google Beats Everyone at Public Relations posted by Craig Oda at Tuesday, November 04, 2008

12 Comments:

Why Google Beats Everyone at Public Relations
posted by Craig Oda at Tuesday, November 04, 2008