The real PR lesson we should learn from Strumpette -- sometimes, it doesn't pay to engage

There is a lesson to be learned from Strumpette. And I hope all you blogists, Kool-Aid drinkers and social media consultants were paying attention.

No, it wasn't that PR men are pigs. And no, it wasn't that PR women are discriminated against.


Engagement might not work

The lesson is that it's almost impossible to win when trying to engage a hard-core critic on a blog.

We read a lot about the importance of "conversations" with customers, and I've used that line a few times myself.

Conversations are great when you're really talking with a customer. When it's someone who is out to smear you, or someone who has a real axe to grind, you're wasting your time.


How the savvy are responding

Twice in recent weeks we've seen Edelman -- the agency that "gets it" -- involved in controversies that swirled around influential PR blogs and beyond.

The first time out -- regarding the Wal-Mart blogger outreach program -- Edelman was, for the most part, quiet. There was no "outreach" then, either by the agency or Wal-Mart itself. No comments on blogs. No engaging of bloggers who were critical of the effort.

Why do you think that was? Don't blog experts preach constantly that the minute there is a flare-up in the blogosphere, you should be front and center with comments and postings? Didn't the blogerati practically destroy that poor bike lock PR woman for not jumping immediately into the fray?


Situation No. 2

This time around, Edelman execs tried to appease Strumpette by commenting. But it only inflamed the situation, and gave Strumpy ammunition to strike back.

Now Strumpette appears to be shut down. Before the blog went dark, the author accused Edelman of sinister tactics. Edelman blogger Mike Krempasky hinted that Strumpette had been served with a "cease and desist" order (edit: I may have misinterpreted his post, which was fairly cryptic. Usher Lieberman says he understood Krempasky to mean that Edelman was threatened with a cease and desist order).

Who knows? But it's obvious that "engaging" Strumpette in the blogosphere didn't make a dent.

Earlier this week, I saw this older post from Eric Mattson at Marketing Monger detailing the lack of participation in blogging by Fortune 100 companies.

If you need to ask why, just consider the situation Edelman has found itself in recently. Twice. And the difficulty of implementing a proper response, even when you are blog savvy.

It's no wonder Corporate America has been slow to adopt blogging. It's not conversations -- or their customers -- they're afraid of.

Update: Here's a perfect example of the difficulties companies face in being open in the blogosphere, from Steven Silvers ...

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