Social Media & Public Relations

What is social media?

Social media combines “a wide range of online, word-of-mouth forums including blogs, company sponsored discussion boards and chat rooms, consumer-to-consumer e-mail, consumer product or service ratings websites and forums, Internet discussion boards and forums, microblogs” (Mangold & Faulds, 2009, p.358). Social media integrates technology & social interaction

with pictures, videos, words, and audio. It also allows people to share different perspectives and

sharing information / stories / experiences among online communities.

Solis, B. (August 5, 2008). Introducing the conversation prism. Retrieved from http://www.briansolis.com/2008/08/introducing-conversation-prism/.

Characteristics of Social Media

Open

Conversations & Dialogue

Relationship Development

Multiple voices

Getting the message to stakeholders Social media press release Video news release Internet Social networking communities / influencers Live steaming

Opportunities in Social Media

Key terms to remember about social media

Engagement

Influencers

Internet MemesEdelman Tweetlevel Site

• Methodology in calculating Influence, Engagement, Trust, and Popularity on site.

Key term: EngagementEngagement

Definition: the purpose of listening and interacting with your key stakeholders virtually – these conversations range from compliments to complaints to specific needs.

Examples of brands that have high levels of engagement: Starbucks, Dell, and Toyota

Why are these brands successful? (Engagement DB Report)• The understand that each social media channel (ex.

Facebook, web sites, blogs, Twitter, etc.) provides people a different dimension of engagement.

• Centralized coordination of social media throughout companies.

• Senior management was part of the social media process (ex. CEO of Starbucks & MyStarbucks.com)

Key Term: Influence

Definition: The ability to shape and shift messages that grabs a person’s attention and inspires them to act upon this.

Breakdown of influencers Traditional influencers (newsmakers, reporters, analysts,

etc.) New media influencers

• These individuals create their own social networking communities and have their own followers (bypassing gatekeepers)

• Bloggers are just the beginning – people are establishing themselves as prominent authorities of influence online.

• Has expert content on their blog, web site , etc. – as well developing relationships w/ followers & peer-to-peer conversations.

Basille, D. (November 5, 2009). Social Media influencers are not traditional influencers. Retrieved from http://www.briansolis.com/2009/11/social-media-influencers-are-not-traditional-influencers/.

Key term: Internet MemeDefinition:

A phrase used to describe a catchphrase or concept that spreads quickly from person to person via the Internet.

Types of Internet Memes Self-promotion (usually created by a group / individual to

gain personal recognition) Rumors & Hoaxes (falsehoods spread virally) Crisis Communications & Reputation Management

Examples of Crisis Communication Internet Memes Domino’s & YouTube Crisis (#disgustingdominos) Amazon Crisis (#amazonfails) United Airlines & Guitar – Song by Musician Dave Carroll

Understanding your online stakeholders

Creators

Critics

Collectors

Joiners

Spectators

Inactives

Publish a blogPublish your own Web pagesUpload video you created Upload audio/music you createdWrite articles or stories and post them

Post ratings/reviews of products/servicesComment on someone else’s blogContribute to online forumsContribute to/edit articles in a wiki

Use RSS feedsAdd “tags” to Web pages or photos“Vote” for Web sites online

Maintain profile on a social networking siteVisit social networking sites

Read blogsWatch video from other usersListen to podcastsRead online forumsRead customer ratings/reviews

None of the above

Bernoff, J. (August 25, 2009). Social technology growth marches on in 2009, led by social network sites. Retrieved from http://blogs.forrester.com/groundswell/2009/08/social-technology-growth-marches-on-in-2009-led-by-social-network-sites.html.

What is the purpose of social media?

• Establishing online identity

• Conducting Research – qualitative and

quantitative

• Launching event & creating awareness of an

issue

•Using media relations practices in reaching both

traditional and non-traditional media

•Engaging with customers in dialogue

•Creating new online partnerships

•Communications with External & Internal

Audiences

•Crisis Communications & Crisis Management

•Reputation Management (Corporate and

Individual)

CDC & Social Media

Twitter Video (YouTube)

MySpaceWidgets

Facebook

Centers for Disease Control Social Media site. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/socialmedia/.

Social media & Mobile Applications

Siegler, M.G. (April 30, 2009). Want to avoid Swine Flu? There’s an app for that too. Retrieved from http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/30/want-to-avoid-swine-flu-theres-an-app-for-that-too/.

Trendsmap. Retrieved from http://trendsmap.com/.

Social Media Measurement

What are the goals in social media measurement?

Reputation Understanding perceptions and attributes associated with brand or

person online / positive or negative tags and content online / analysis of conversations

Awareness Brand loyalty / media placements and referrals to social media sites /

share of conversation / sentiment in posts / interaction with content

Money Speed of online transactions / Referrals to new customers /

conversations from community

Engagement Looking at specific activity and interactions among followers & brand Posts / Threads / Incoming links / Tags / Referrals / Post frequency

Education Learning about stakeholders / being part of the dialogue / creating new

relationships / strategic issues management

How to measure social media

Free sites for online tracking and measurement People Browsr SM2 Google Insights Samepoint Social Mention

Other sites Radian6 CustomScoop Viral Heat Nielson Buzzlogics Cision Social Media

Role of the new PR professional

Role of a PR Professional Contribute valuable content and perspective through

participation We are not only liaisons for our businesses we work for or

clients, but we become influencers ourselves

Social creates a new hybrid of PR professionals Social Media / Data mining expert Market analyst & researcher Customer Service Relationship marketers Viral marketer Conversationalist/listener

How PR can be successful with social media? Integrate social media practices as part of the daily routine –

like checking what is going on in the news or email.

Connecting with people online (establishing relationships).

Creating a dialogue through an online channel.

Start having a conversation with online stakeholders from the very beginning – incorporate into corporate culture.

Being consistent with content across all social media platforms as well in traditional media outlets.

Social media is not for the short term – it is a long-term process and investment.

Educate your organization & community about social media

Other PR tips to success

Talk like a person, not a computerized robot!

Be helpful and bring value to the conversation and relationship.

Remember each time that you are talking, posting, or conducting a business exchange online – you are contributing to the personality and reputation of the agency / corporation you are representing, as well as your own reputation.

Why is it important to understand social media from a PR perspective?

Being aware of the latest technologies to implement our communication messages and campaign strategies

Know how people are getting their information and stories and effectively communicate and share meaning with audiences

To build networks with fellow PR professionals - you never know who you are going to meet!

Understanding the key online influencers and opinion leaders

A way to understand our target audiences and how to best communicate with them

A tool to use to manage online reputation for our client as well as ourselves

Future of social media

Baekel. T. (April 27, 2009). Where is everyone? Baekel Online Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.baekdal.com/articles/Management/market-of-information/.

Social Media Resources Mashable: http://www.mashable.com

Brian Solis (PR 2.0): http://www.briansolis.com

PR Squared: http://www.pr-squared.com/

Web Strategy (Jeremiah Owyang): http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/

Groundswell (Christine Li / Forrester Research):

http://blogs.forrester.com/groundswell/

Social Media e-Books: http://mashable.com/2008/03/19/ebooks-social-media/

Online Reputation Management Top 10 Free Tools for Monitoring Your Brand’s Reputation:

http://mashable.com/2008/12/24/free-brand-monitoring-tools/ How to build the ultimate social media resume:

http://mashable.com/2009/01/13/social-media-resume/

Other useful research tools Twitter

Twitter Search - Search keywords on Twitter which "self-refreshes". See what's happening — 'right now'.

TweetScan - search for words on Twitter Twit(url)y - see what people are talking about on Twitter TweetBeep - Track mentions of your brand on Twitter in real time. Twitrratr - Rates mentions of your search term on Twitter as

positive/neutral/negative TwitScoop – Through an automated algorithm, twitscoop crawls hundreds of

tweets every minute and extracts the words which are mentioned more often than usual and creates a tag cloud.

Twilert - Twitter application that lets you receive regular email updates of tweets containing your brand, product, service.

Twitnest – look at who is following who on Twitter Twitratr – measures positive, negative, and neutral tweets for a particular

Twitter user Twitscoop – tool to see what issues are being discussed the most on Twitter TweetStats – statistics on Twitter Twitlocal – find people in local area on Twitter Twazzup – Twitter search engine but with real feed

Monitoring discussions / comments Backtype Tweetmeme