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Corporate Relations

Scarlett Engineer, Bianca Fields, Danielle Higgins, Christie Mearns and Erin Mills

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You can also find a video of our presentation on news feed.

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IntroductionSocial media has become an extremely important online

communications tool.

It is no longer a ‘buzz word’ but now classed as a highly respected strategic communication device

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Facebook, Twitter, Blogs

Twitter-  175 Million twitter accounts have been opened since 2006 (not all are active)

Facebook- 600 Million visit Facebook each month. Half of that amount visit daily

Blogs- Estimates around 450 Million (hard to know as there are so many blog sites)

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‘The use of communication technology has made the PR’s job easier by expediting the circulation of information to reach broader audiences. Social media not only allows public relations practitioners to reach out to and engage their publics in conversation, but also provides an avenue to strengthen media relations.’ (N. Eyrich et al. 2008)

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Co – creation theory Vargo and Lusch’s (2007) theory of co-creation of value,

that emphasises the mutual value between the consumer and the business.

• Paine (2011) suggests that co-creation value is increased when the consumer is able to personalise their experience

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Proactive and Reactive approach

Is your social media programme about asking, or answering?

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So why wouldn’t you use it?

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SWOTStrengths

• Allows companies and brands to learn more about target audiences more easily and affordably

•Levels the playing field for brands of every size and industry

•Provides cost effective communication in comparison to traditional channels

•Emphasises great content, empowering companies to leverage helpful assets to attract fans, followers and friends

•Harnesses the importance and relevancy of ‘now’ - Real time, immediate communications

•Delivers a greater reach, with a multiplicative effect of pass along, as compared to other marketing communication channels

Weaknesses

•You will need to commit resources to managing your social media presence, eg: responding to feedback and producing new content

•It can be difficult to quantify the return on investment and the value of one channel over another

•Ineffective use- for example, using the network to push sales without engaging with customers, or failing to respond to negative feedback (this will damage your reputation)

•Un-personal, Unemotional

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SWOT continued …

Opportunities

•Building brand awareness

•Making customer service personal with social media

•Adding events to social media programmes

•Adding social media to product introductions

•Embracing social media to build your sales pipeline

•Activate your community

Threats•Your company can become a spammer, or be spammed

•Confidential and proprietary information: IF boundaries aren’t set there is a risk of employees disclosing confidential company information

• Competitor and customer information: Employees need to know the companies stance on sharing information about customers, clients, and competitor’s otherwise private information may go public

•Valuable time can be lost with employees spending work hours on social media sites

•More and more people and companies accounts are getting hacked

•The wrong online brand strategy could put you at a viral social disadvantage and may even damage your reputation

•Using social media for marketing and advertising could be more time consuming than companies expect

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@LeedsMet_CR

Don’t forget to Tweet us your questions !

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Personal Privacy

One study acknowledged that young individuals are willing to take risks with their profiles

People are proven to be more likely to disclose personal information online than face-to-face.

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• 76.3% made their profiles visible only to friends

• 100% of participants had their birth dates visible

• 64.1% displayed their email address• 54.2% revealed their hometown

Taraszow et al’s (2010) study into the relationship between privacy concerns and information disclosure on both Facebook and MySpace

“Majority of Facebook users report having an understanding of privacy settings and make use of their privacy settings, it is apparent, however, that they may have a skewed sense of what that exactly entails.” (Debatin et al 2009)

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Corporate Social Media The way the public demand communication is changing; instant, responsive and direct conversation is how social media has become the optimal tool

Trust is becoming less reliant on personal encounters but through ‘Facework Commitments’ it’s becoming an objective character and systemic trust

(Giddens 1999)

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Corporate Social Media Security 80% of UK companies believe the use of social media delivers significant business returns which outweigh the risks of use, such as data manipulation and loss.

“People are already talking about you…” 20% of Twitter updates are either requests for product info,

or responses to brand messages

• Honesty and authenticity are critical to be successful in this space!

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Recent Issues

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=KGghlPmebCY

March 1, 2012

• No opting out option• Freedom to present separate personal and professional personas• Modified search engine results• Allowing a machine to second-guess humans based upon past behavior's can only be the start on a lack of choice and public censorship.

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Censorship In China

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Copycat social media sites

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Case Studies

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@LeedsMet_CR

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Why CEOs should use social media?

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PR Benefits of Social Media for a CEO

 · Social media allows companies to engage more interactively with their publics•Social media is good for familiarising publics with a brand in a more informal and friendly tone, giving the company a brand presence•Social media generates an opportunity to respond and provide instant feedback, allowing the company to change negative perceptions of the brand or to reinforce positive views•It’s cost effective if used regularly and appropriately

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New Media Vs Old MediaNewspaper Circulation

The Sun 2,751,219 (January 2012)

Daily Mail 2,050,132

The Guardian 226,473

The Daily Telegraph 634,113

The Times 405,113

National daily newspaper circulation January 2012". The Guardian (UK). 10 February 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2012.

Social Networking Site Members

Facebook 845 million

Twitter Over 400 million (predicted to reach 500 by last Wednesday)

LinkedIn 150 million

Four Square 15 million

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The Good

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The BAD

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Tips to stay on top

• Join The Rabbit Agencies mailing list, they were awarded the best social media campaign last year by CIPR and send weekly updates

on social media tips – links are on the hand outs

• Start networking now, all brands and all industries embrace social media so we would recommend making Twitter lists of

brands/people/networks that you want to work for. Follow them and talk to them now its the best and only way to get a job in this industry

• Twitter list example: https://twitter.com/#!/brideyrae/social-news

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Summary• Social media is now an extremely important online

marketing and communications tool• Businesses need to be proactive NOT reactive• Be careful what private information you put online, you may

not fully understand privacy settings on certain sites• Censorship is a developing problem, it may effect how some

of our favourite social networking sites work (Twitter)• PRs need to influence CEO's to get social• New media has taken over BUT old media still holds value

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Social Media Quiz

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02/24/12

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Answer: WOMEN

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2. What free discount site is now trying out a VIP membership charging

£30 a month?

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Answer: Groupon

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3. Which new social networking site has recently over taken

LinkedIn?

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Answer: Pinterst

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4. What is the average number of Facebook friends?

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Answer: 130

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5. What was set up first Facebook or LinkedIn?

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Answer: LinkedIn

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Twitter Feeds to follow….@TwitterForNews

@LinkedIn

@TNWsocialmedia

@PRNews

@GoodandBadPR

@PRexamples

@prweekuknews

All our recommended feeds are followed by @LeedsMet_CR

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Question time