B2B BtoB: Don't Worry About the Numbers -I'm Misquoted in a Stealth Interview

By B.L. Ochman

UPDATE:: Ellis Booker informed me in email that the misquote is being corrected on the BtoB story. The link now leads to a correct quote.

UPDATE: Ellis Booker, Editor of Crain's BtoB and BtoB's Media Business emailed "If you feel strongly about this, I'd encourage you to write a Letter to the Editor (please, 75 words or thereabouts)." He also noted that the author is Paul Gillin, who has commented and apologized in the comments below that he misquoted me. Dear Ellis and Paul: What I want is an online correction.

I've got the misquoted in a stealth interview blues again. This time, I don't even know who wrote the story because there's no byline. I just know he/she got what I said entirely wrong.

I've been quoted entirely out of context in the B2B article about social media marketing campaign costs: "Don't Worry About the Numbers". There's no context because there was no interview. None. Nada.

On the Internet, everything you say is forever. And I've written and said a lot about social media marketing. And some day, chances are, a lot of what I said, and what you say, will show up, out of context, when you least expect it. And chances are, you'll never talk to the person who quotes you. That's why I call it the stealth interview.

The incorrect quote: "BL Ochman of agency What's Next Online, who has run several successful blog-based campaigns, estimates six-month costs of a formal campaign at about $50,000, which is a trivial investment compared to the cost of a single 30-second TV spot."

What I actually said about the cost of a social media marketing campaign in a post on this blog in October 2007:

"The budget for an effective social media marketing campaign begins at $50K for a two to three-month period. I'm sure companies have spent less, and I know they've spent more.

I have created effective campaigns with as little as $50K, and even better ones with budgets of $500K for three months. :>) "

What can you do when you're misquoted by an unknown writer? Not much, unless you have a blog where you can SEO your post and set the record straight. Sigh.

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In your opinion, what would be the right thing for a writer to do in a situation like this? Well -- let me rephrase that. If I were writing a short, informal article like that one, I might use information that I got from web research (including from blogs). BUT I would clearly source it and quote it exactly. "According to a post on her blog, B.L. Ochman says ..." etc. Do you feel like that's an ethical way of doing it? Or do you think that still qualifies as a "stealth interview"?

The truth is, even if the writer had interviewed you in person, s/he could still totally misquote you and take your words out of context. Some people just do that.

I often use research from blog posts and, yes, mainstream media. But I learned to cite my sources when I was in journalism school.

I think it's ethical to quote a blog post as long as you attribute the source and quote it directly.

I think they should correct the quote. I would do so in the comments, but there's no way to do that.

I'm the author and it was my mistake. Although I've had several interviews with BL, the citation was from her blog entry which mentioned that campaigns can be created for "as little as" $50,000. She did not represent that as an average or imply that marketers should expect to pay that price.

I apologize for the error. This was entirely my fault.

Paul: Thank you for your comment. Anyone can make a mistake, and it is both kind and ethical of you to note this. However, I want an immediate correction on the B2B website.

This is actually a little scary.

I guess that is a problem with the internet. Opinions last forever. It might even be advisable at times to write less. Anything I have ever written online can be quoted in any contemporary news article.

It's unlikely to happen to me, but it's still a big worry.

Richard: Yes, it is a little scary, and it's a heads up for monitoring your brand.

If you don't watch your brand, and respond when an error is made, or clarify a point, your brand suffers. Because this is my personal brand, I try to keep up with it daily.

I don't know if this also is in the print edition. If it is, there's not much I can do because anything i say will be so far after the fact.

But when you are misquoted in print and a correction is made it appears after the fact - sometimes a month or more later - and is usually hidden.

On the Internet corrections can be made in just about real time.

Paul Gillin made an honest mistake and he apologized. BtoB says they'll correct the quote. I call that a happy ending. Or I will when the quote is actually corrected.