Social Media + PR

The College of Saint RoseJune 1, 2010Amy Mengel

About Me

Head of Inbound Marketing for readMediaI got this job via social media!

Founder of Social Media Breakfast Tech Valley, one of largest in the country

Corporate Communication background, mostly manufacturing companies

Bachelors in PR and MBA in finance

Blog at www.amymengel.com

Communication is Changing

Traditional PR model:Organization defines its key messagesReaches out to traditional media outlets via pitches, press releases with those messagesAttempts to gain coverage in traditional press to influence publicMay create specific campaigns aimed at reaching an audience directly (e.g., special events)Predominantly one-way dissemination

Communication is Changing

Social Media disrupts that modelMedia consumption habits are changingThe web makes it easy to bypass traditional media and self-publishAudiences expect more genuine engagement from brands and orgsAccess to global personal and professional networks means word-of-mouth is broader than ever beforeSocial media easily enables two-way communication

Social Media Revolution

Socialnomics: Social Media Revolution

Media & News Consumption

92 % of Americans use multiple platforms to get their news each day

60% get news from a combination of online and offline sources

33% of cell phone users access news on their mobile devices

75% of online news consumers receive news via email or posts on social networking sites

52% share links to news with others via email or social networking

Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project

How is social media different?

Communication expectations with audiences have changed

Audiences want direct access – social media bypasses information gatekeepers

Social media is personal, and it is personalizing brands and companies

People want to do business with people they know and trust – social media is a way to build that trust

Social media is real-time

Outcomes are different

15 years ago: Pitch story to a reporter via phoneStory appears in a local newspaper, profiling a local business.Subscribers to the paper see the story. May tell a friend or two about the business.Rarely, a person may clip the story from the paper and mail it to a friend.Business owner may clip and frame the story to hang in their business

Outcomes are different

Today: Send reporter a DM via Twitter or a Facebook message with your pitch, or a linkStory appears in a local newspaper, profiling a local business. Also appears in the online version of the paper.Google indexes the story and the business’ name begins to appear in search results for specific keywords.Subscribers see the print edition of the story, but anyone can find/read the story online.People begin sharing the link to the story via Digg, Facebook & Twitter.Story gets emailed to friends.Business adds link to story to their website.

Outcomes are different

15 years ago: Crisis erupts at a business or plantMedia on the scene are kept at bayPress conference held to give a highly crafted statementInformation from the scene controlledLimited or no photo or video of incident is ever releasedLimited access to spokespeople from the organizationTV news story later in the evening, newspaper story next day

Outcomes are different

Today: Employees or community members instantly send status updates with what they see/hearMedia on scene reporting in real-timePhoto and video (sometimes live streaming) from the sceneAudience posting to company’s blog or Facebook page asking for infoPeople add hashtags to tweets to follow the event as it unfoldsAudience demands real-time informationCompany may update Twitter or blog with details as they are knownInstant news stories on the webContinued comments and interaction about the story as links are shared

Social Media = Reach

Because it’s so much easier to share information, the possibility that news and content about your organization will be passed along increases greatly

Good news and bad gets sharedTarget audience is much larger, and much longer (Google indexes web content forever)Word can spread like wildfireNetworks are no longer limited by geography

Social Media ≠ Cure-all

Still important to reach traditional mediaMuch of what’s talked about on social media sites originates from traditional news outletsLocal newspaper website still a key source of community information

Social tools and preferences for them can change on a dime

Remember MySpace?Facebook privacy concernsKnow where your audience is online!

Skills needed for today’s PR pro

Writing, writing, writing!

Transmedia storytelling

Building relationships

Design and creative

Customer service

Basic programming and web tools

Understanding of SEO

Community management

Participate as a person first

Familiarize yourself with social tools on a personal level before building social outposts for your organization

Be comfortable customizing your Facebook profile and tweaking settingsParticipate/contribute to a fan pageCreate a personal Twitter accountDevelop a LinkedIn profileComment on blogs or start your ownPractice shooting/editing/uploading/tagging videos and photos

Integrating SM + PR

Incorporating social media in media relationsFinding and engaging reporters via Twitter, LinkedIn, FacebookCommenting on news stories about or related to your organization (always identify yourself!)Leveraging earned media on social outposts

Every time you pitch a story, publish a storyBlog post, photo stream, podcast, video: create your own content

Act like your organization’s own beat reporterCover live eventsCreate stories and content

Integrating SM + PR

Where is your audience online? Choose your outposts carefully. Listen to determine what they’re talking about and interested in.

The importance of content creation – PR pros now need to understand SEO

Boost search rankings via blogging, Twitter, YouTube, other contentAttract mainstream media to contentDirectly reach online audiences

You need to be willing to give up some control of your message

Create guidelines for the organization: how to respond? (e.g. Air Force flow chart)

Examples

Content CreationSouthwest AirlinesBlendTecGraco Dupont Chemical

Community BuildingFiskateersMad Men YourselfStarbucks

Crisis CommunicationH&M Time Warner CableMotrin MomsNestle

Tools to get the job done

Listening and monitoringGoogle Reader and RSS alerts

Subscribe to blogs and feeds with information related to your orgCreate Google Alerts for keywords about your org

Search.Twitter.comSee what’s being said about your organization in real time

SocialMention, Icerocket, TechnoratiLinkedIn AnswersNiche-specific networks and forums

Tools to get the job done

Content creationBlogging platforms: Blogger, WordPress, Drupal, TypePadFacebook groups, fan pages, or community pagesTwitter for real-time status updatesFlickr photostreamYoutube, Vimeo, Viddler for videoSlideshare, Scribd and DocStoc for presentations and documentsEventbrite, UStream and Livestream for eventsDigg and StumbleUpon for bookmarkingFourSquare, Gowalla, Loopt for location-based social networking

Tools to get the job done

Building a communityAdding a forum to your siteNiche networks like NingCustom online communities

Fiskateers, Legos

Getting the word outreadMedia for online newsroomsTweepSearch to find journalists and other influencers on Twitter

If you build it, they won’t come… right away

Building a community takes time. Give them useful information and keep them engaged. Interact.

Promote your content through social media channels. Be your own media.

Traditional media is still critical – especially for local organizations.

Discover and leverage what your most passionate fans are already doing.

Always keep the organization’s goals in mind: WHY are you doing this?

Resources

Blogs:www.socialmediaexplorer.comwww.pr-squared.comwww.altitudebranding.comwww.davefleet.comwww.marketingprofs.com

BooksGroundswell, by Charlene LiTrust Agents, by Chris Brogan

WebsitesPR Daily (eNewsletter)Social Media TodaySmartBrief on Social Media (eNewsletter)Alltop PRMashable, TechCrunch and ReadWriteWeb

Contact

Amy MengelBlog: www.amymengel.comTwitter: @amymengelLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/amymengelEmail: amybmengel@gmail.comPhone: 518-227-1210