SOCIAL MEDIA
Public Relations & Social Media | Make Sure it Fits in Your PR Mix.
There are many benefits to using social media, many of them evident in the companies who are taking the time and making the effort. (For companies who may not be giving social media the attention it needs, benefits may not be seen as often.) So while the success of social media in your PR plans relies heavily on your output, it also depends on how well it fits into your PR mix.
What is social media? It is the new media that PR and other business professionals now deal with in order to reach their buyers and target markets. Instead of needing to go through other media, like newspapers and TV, companies can create that relationship with the public themselves. Social media can include things like blogs, forums, wikis, & social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and foursquare. There are a few things to consider when thinking of implementing social media. You can ask yourself the following questions:
1. Will your target market and current and future buyers benefit from your use of social media? If the answer to this is "no", it may not be worth your time to implement one or more aspects of social media. Your use of the tools mentioned above needs to benefit the buyer just as much as it should benefit you, the company.
2. Will you reach your target market and current and future buyers with your social media efforts? Again, if the answer is "no", your time might be better spent on other PR activities. This question addresses where your target market and buyers get their information. If they are predominantly offline, social media may not benefit or reach the bulk of your market, and small, marginal results may be seen. Evaluate where your time should be spent.
3. Will you use the medium consistently and frequently? Social media is not something that can really be done "half-time"; your results will only be half as good as you would like them to be. To really feel the benefits or social media and to see a return on your investment (of time and resources), you need to ensure that your output equals the input you hope to see.
4. Why are you thinking of using social media? If your answer here is to advertise your brand, product, and services, social media is not for you. It is meant to be a tool to engage your audience, target market, and buyers, not to sell to them. (That's what advertising is for...) Instead, use these tools to share with them things of value like information on your industry, answers to questions, etc.
Be sure that you're also aware of the results you may see if you do use social media, but do so improperly (as it pertains to your company). You can not only lose out on potential buyers (or donations, votes, whatever you're trying to get), but you can even tarnish your brand. Customers may not remember you if you do everything the same as everyone else, but doing it poorly usually stands out in their minds. While social media is easy to use, implement, and cost effective, know the reasons you want to use them, the sort of commitment you can make, and the results you hope to see.
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Social Media & the Workplace :
Robert Half Technology's Findings
"Whistle - but don't tweet - while you work."
In light of the plethora of social media and social networking sites, Robert Half Technology conducted a survey of 1,400 CIOs from companies around the US with at least 100 employees. (In contrast, it would be interesting to see what companies of a much smaller size would say.)
There are many reasons to advocate the use of social media for public relations, marketing, and overall business. This study, however, shows that companies are still hesitant and rather suspicious of their employee's abilities to use the media vehicles in an appropriate (or relative) manner.
While 1% was unaware (or opted not to answer) of their policies, 54% said that they completely prohibit use of these sites and 19% allow use for work related purposes. The number of companies who allow these sites to be used for business was surprisingly low, while the number who prohibit was also surprisingly high.
There are many benefits to companies who use these sites for their businesses, and for those who encourage their employees to get involved in their company's online presence. I have, in past articles, urged the use of these sites because of the advantages they offer.
From StopBlocking, some key ideas that help to reiterate my reasons (and offer some new reasons) for encouraging their use:
"Well-communicated and consistently enforced policies will deal with most issues." The number of companies blocking access to social media sites is roughly on par with the number of companies without social media policies. Isn’t it possible that employees who knew what the rules were might actually follow them? Especially if they knew there were real and serious consequences for failing to do so?
Access to social media improves productivity. According to Dave Willmer, executive director of Robert Half Technology, “Using social networking sites may divert employees’ attention away from more pressing priorities, so it’s understandable that some companies limit access.” But multiple studies prove exactly the opposite.
Productivity concerns are based on fatally flawed assumptions. First, there is research to suggest that every hour an employee spends at work on non-work-related websites is compensated for by an hour spent away from work on work-related activities. Do you check your work-related email on your mobile phone before you even get out of bed? Most knowledge workers say they do. Second, there are work-related benefits to social media activities, including collaboration, mindsharing and professional social networking amongst employees, affiliates and partners, according to David Lavenda of WorkLight (drawing on results from a Gartner study).
Employees don’t need your network. I can access any social network I like on my iPhone and my Palm Pre. I have a laptop with built-in access to the Sprint network that gets me on any site I want. Employees can (and do) bring these tools to the workplace. Your blocks have no impact. Employees can still get to Facebook all they want.
Who died and put CIOs in charge of worker productivity anyway? I’m not sure when supervisors and HR abdicated this responsibility to IT, but IT is simply not qualified to address employee productivity.
Blocking kills engagement. There are plenty of studies that tie high levels of worker engagement to increased growth and profitability. Trust is a pillar of engagement. So what happens to engagement when all employees get the same message, “We don’t trust any of you, not a single damn one of you, as far as we can throw you, so we’re blocking all of you”? Bye bye, engagement.
Access to social media is not an automatic invitation to viruses and malware. Those companies that do permit employee access have found ways to protect their networks. For many of the companies blocking access based on the fear of infection, it’s just easier to block than to find ways to protect the network while providing access. Laziness is not an excuse for blocking.
Millenials will not work for companies that block. These workers — the ones you need to hire to replace the retiring boomers — are networked 24/7 and expect the company to accommodate them. Many simply won’t work for companies that block access, which means you’re left to hire your second and third choices. Is mediocrity actually a hiring goal in your organization?
Bandwidth is a bogus issue. Bandwidth is the paper of the digital era. Can you imagine a company 25 years ago telling workers, “We’d love to get memos and publications to you, but we don’t have enough paper”? The very notion is absurd. They’d buy more paper. Companies pinching pennies on bandwidth are doing themselves a disservice in many more ways than one."
Robert Half Technology even offers some ways to protect your professional reputation, which would be a great thing to share with employees:
- "Know what’s allowed. Make sure you understand and adhere to your company’s social networking policy.
- Use caution. Be familiar with each site’s privacy settings to ensure personal that details or photos you post can be viewed only by people you choose.
- Keep it professional. Use social networking sites while at work to make connections with others in your field or follow industry news -- not to catch up with family or friends.
- Stay positive. Avoid complaining about your manager and coworkers. Once you’ve hit submit or send, you can’t always take back your words -- and there’s a chance they could be read by the very people you’re criticizing.
- Polish your image. Tweet or blog about a topic related to your profession. You’ll build a reputation as a subject matter expert, which could help you advance in your career.
- Monitor yourself. Even if your employer has a liberal policy about social networking, limit the time you spend checking your Facebook page or reading other people’s tweets to avoid a productivity drain."
I think there is a happy medium to allowing use of social media sites. As a millennial, I want to be involved in these sites, whether for myself or for the company I work with. Networking with others is enjoyable and helps to pass a long day online.
I hope that in the future companies can shift the responsibility of deciding Internet usage to people who are more knowledgeable and better equipped to make such a decision. IT may be told (from higher ups) that employees will waste time and blocking responsible sites is the only means to stopping it. What they are not able to see is the overall benefit of having employees involved in the company's online identity.
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Using Social Networking Sites to Your Advantage
Public relations changed when the Internet came into play. Now, with more and more people getting online, having your own online presence is important and at times vital.
Here are a few things to consider when launching a social networking PR plan:
1.) This is not intended to be advertising. Most people (your customers) are on these networking sites to talk with friends, share things they like, and network with people. Your role on these sites is to remind people you are around and that you are an active participant in their world.
2.) Being an active participant does not mean advertising yourself. Instead, contribute to forums, comment on blogs, and join groups. As a company, create a group in your industry that offers resources for members. Encourage others to get involved as well; people love sharing their opinions, so make sure they know they are welcome. (They may assume it anyways, but knowing that it is the case always helps.)
3.) Offering benefits to joining your network is always great incentive. You don't have to bribe everyone, but if you show yourself as being genuine and helpful to others in the industry whether they be customers or professionals, they are likely to spread the word for you. For example, offer some helpful advice, write articles, make it so people can ask you questions, and be active.
4.) Being genuine is a great way to get others to trust you. We all know that your end goal is to make a sale (or increase your traffic, whatever you cause may be), but by coming across differently, consumers can accept that you may really have their best intentions at heart. As such, convey yourself honestly.
5.) If you want to forgo representing yourself in a more professional manner, consider creating a social networking site for a company mascot, such as the Gil the crab from the Honda Element campaign, who has a MySpace and over 58,000 friends. Although Honda's ads are all over the page, people add Gil to their network because the character works, and people enjoy him. They may even love Honda, and just want to show that to their present network. Either way, humor works in many ways.
People who love your brand will find you, and tell others about you, especially if there is something useful or beneficial once they get there. Incorporate current events in your industry to help drive traffic, and be honest when consumers interact with you. If something comes up that shines a negative light on your company, don't ignore it and only reply to the positive things. Rather, reply and, if at fault, apologize, accept responsibility, and provide a remedy. Otherwise, help set the story straight (without pointing fingers), and move on to the next question. Encourage people to get in touch with you, offer advice as consumers, and leave feedback on the forums and blog posts you create. You build your own online credibility, so start taking action.
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Utilizing Social Media and Networking Sites :
Public Relations & Twitter
You may be hesitant to use Twitter. You may not understand its value, or even its use. There was even a study indicating the large percentage (~40%) of useless content present in Twitter. Despite there being so much useless content, Twitter can be rather valuable for business professionals, companies, and individuals looking to network, share ideas, and promote their businesses.
For instance, Twitter is being used by many bloggers to share articles, topics, and other blogs they've learned to enjoy. I am able to follow other professionals, read useful articles, and pick up some tips and news from around the web. Twitter even endorses itself for the business industry with an article titled: "Twitter 101 for Business". There are a few key points in that article that will help me to reiterate my thoughts on Twitter and its remaining useful 60%:
- Twitter is a quick way to share content with others. Your ideas are instantly online for all to see!
- Twitter writes, "[it] is a communication platform that helps business stay connected to their customers."
- In addition to staying in touch with customers, it is a great way to stay in touch with other professionals or businesses in your industry, and is an effective way to share ideas and brainstorm with the aforementioned individuals.
Twitter sums it up pretty well for businesses who use the site: "As a business, you an use it to quickly share information with people interested in your company, gather real-time market intelligence and feedback, and build relationships with customers, partners, and other people who care about your company."
The most useful and base-line characteristic of Twitter is that it is a great social networking site. With short, 140 character sentences, you can immediately share content, redirect visitors to your site, and suggest other sources of information for those that follow your tweets. Public Relations Blogger has been picked up from time to time by other Tweeters, and has in turn generated some traffic. (Because of my blog being picked up, I am more inclined to link to their blogs or content as well, so networking in this industry (or any) is a crucial component of brand building if you'd like to make some connections. It's amazing to think that this website started in 2006 as an experiment. It sure has come a long way.
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Digital Content Marketing Services
The Public Relations industry has changed dramatically over the last five years. Today it’s much broader than simply writing press releases and generating clips. PR has evolved to become the cornerstone in helping companies reach and engage with their buyers and other key audiences in the blogosphere. Contemporary PR helps build communities that are passionate about your company’s brand, and provides creative, authentic content that engages and inspires dialogue.
In addition to traditional and blogger relations programs– forward-looking companies are starting to think like publishers themselves – sharing ideas, spurring conversations, engaging in industry trends and developing valuable digital marketing content that helps propel their brands. That means reaching and engaging your customers on a personal level with authentic, relevant content that can be easily found and shared through your website, blog and accross social networks. The development of original content also dramatically improves your SEO rankings and marketing efforts. And, yes, it helps generate more sales. So, you have some expertise, opinions and views you want to share with your customers and community, but don’t know where to begin? Are you trying to figure out where to start? That’s where SHIFT can help. We have created an in-house Content Marketing Practice that offers the following capabilities :
Digital Video Productions
Video is one of the fastest-growing media used in social media community building. It’s hard to fake being genuine and transparent when trying to connect through a visual medium. People can see through scripted, over-produced, and controlled messaging. They want to be engaged through raw, honest, passionate and creatively captured-and-shared moments on issues that they connect with. It’s important to remember, first and foremost, that consumers and communities are not demographics, markets or influence groups – they’re people. They’re individuals. And their opinions matter.
Mobile / Studio Podcasting
Work with clients to produce original programming series – interviewing executive team members, market movers and customers. From man on the street interviews to answering hot questions that can be posted to their blog or website.
Live Remote Video Capabilities
Help clients broadcast and share live breaking news. Better yet, we can help clients express and expand their personal brand by sharing live critical moments from the road while on-tour or at a major conference or Summit.
SEO Communications Services
In today's search engine centric culture - if your product or service didn't show up on the first or second page of Google or Yahoo!, it may as well not exist. Recent research found that 90% of all Internet users never view sites listed below the 20th postion on the Search Engine Rankings.
You can also conduct advanced SEO management programs to manage your entire website, all your content and micro-sites - by meta coding content, headers and URL tagging for optimal SEO effectiveness. All Advanced SEO programs will have a dedicated team of SEO experts - providing regular trend and Google analysis on a weekly or daily basis.
Key Questions to consider when evaluating your SEO program and its effectiveness Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Google is continually changing its search algorithms - Does your website reflect these changes to take full advantage of these changes?
- Is your content matched to the key words and phrases you are trying to maximize?
- Are you actively submitting new content to directory services?
- Are you actively creating backend links.
Extending Content to Entice and Engage
Some companies still tend to view marketing as a department – driving campaign after campaign to support sales. That’s fine, but over time most companies accumulate a plethora of case studies, customer testimonials, market studies, invaluable customer insight and information thatultimately gets forgotten and gathers dust.
You offers a service that reviews and helps unlock and repurpose good content and campaigns to make the information more readily findable, engaging and interactive. You don't just post the Information onto Social Networks – you can build community sites leveraging relevant existing information and ideas to engage customers, partners and other stakeholders.
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