The Future of Public Relations?

Last week, Jason Falls sparked a debate about the future of Public Relations in his post Social Media is the Responsibility of Public Relations.

Falls points out, many companies don’t have the resources to employ Social Media specialists and must rely on internal resources to create and maintain consumer and business relationships online. He suggests that social networking must become a function of Public Relations.

In my mind, social media is essentially public relations in the online world. Divide the category up by component — blogs, social networks, microblogging, podcasts/Web TV, wikis/collaborative software — they each ladder in some way to a component of public relations — writing, corporate communications, community relations, media relations, event management.

I agree.  As people demand more from brands and service providers, Social Media is enabling us to connect with our prospects and customers in very meaningful ways. Blogs, forums and social networking are changing the way companies interact with customers. Our communications are becoming more targeted and personal. We can expand out market coverage and create the opportunity to interact directly with the people who purchase our products. Moreover, companies that make the effort to adopt current technologies will gain an advantage over their competitors.

Solutions for Small Business

So what is the solution for the small business that does not have a Public Relations, Marketing or Social Media department?

Companies incapable of meeting the ever-increasing demands of Public Relations will need to outsource most of their Social Networking functions. In the future, Social Media Specialists will be in high demand as more companies realize the importance of these activities. For those of us willing to learn new technologies and participate, we have the ability to create manageable internal social networking strategies. If we want them to be effective, we will need to acquire the appropriate skills and dedicate ourselves to the ongoing process.

As media outlets become smaller, we need to find new ways to gain publicity and get people talking about our companies. We can’t always rely on media contacts to relay our positive image. We need to create continuous strategies we can monitor and alter depending on our observed results. Through direct contact, we have an opportunity to discover what our customer wants, gather relevant ideas and present a solution to their immediate problems.  If we create valuable connections, and refrain from using Social Media as another medium for our sales pitch, we have the opportunity to use these interactions to create a positive public image and develop desirable product.

Falls predicts:

Social Media will evolve into components of a sophisticated public relations effort.

Businesses that have clearly developed Social Media strategies, and use both Marketing and Public Relations resources, will be further ahead than companies that ignore online networking, or misuse it as a form of advertising and promotion. The main purpose of social networking is to create ongoing conversations. Companies that do not participate in the conversation, or use it solely as a means to push products in the faces of potential buyers will fail.

As more and more of our potential customers are using social networks to evaluate businesses and brands, we need to learn how to start conversations, build relationships and grow communities.

What do you think?

Pamela Weir is a Marketing Copywriter. If you are looking for a sales writer with experience creating website content, press releases, media one-sheets, and warm letters, please visit her Copywriting Services page for information.

The Value of Twitter

Lately, it seems as though I’m spending too much time bouncing around the internet. In order to stay up to date, I frequent a lot blogs and read the latest news about social media. In my recent ventures, I’ve notice that everyone, at some point in time, has been involved in a discussion about Twitter .

For those of you who don’t know:

Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows users to send “updates” (or “tweets”; text-based posts, up to 140 characters long) to the Twitter website, via short message service (e.g. on a cell phone), instant messaging, or a third-party application such as Twitterrific or Facebook. (Wikipedia )

The topic of this ongoing discussion seems to be whether Twitter is truly a valuable social marketing tool, or a colossal waste of time.

If you watch this video you can see why most nay-sayers find it more frustrating than useful:

For my business, I use many different types of social media. A lot of them are much better at wasting time than Twitter. Personally, I can’t stand getting caught “Online” with MSN Messenger. My status is permanently set to “Offline”. And as far as I can tell, Facebook is a perpetual “poking” machine. I can easily spend the first four or five minutes of my visit just poking everyone back.

For me, Twitter creates value by allowing easy interaction with people who pique my interest with their random, witty updates. By following the right people on Twitter, I get instant updates on their posts, services and events. I’m also offered Twitterverse (as it is dubbed by frequent users) specials and giveaways just for being a member and following the right people. I can interact with other marketers and writers to see what they are talking about and discuss the most recent issues that effect the industry.

I can follow people like Seth Godin and Wil Wheaton. It’s always interesting to find new people to follow. You can follow people who grab your attention through the feed on the main page, or you can link to the profiles of people who are engaged in conversations with users you are already following. Everyone brings their own perspective to the conversation.

As a bonus, there are many Twitter client applications that you can download to your Mac or PC that allow you to interact more easily with your peers. I prefer Twhirl , which functions similar to MSN Messenger and tucks nicely away into the corner of my laptop workspace and I don’t have to stay logged into Twitter’s website and hit refresh every 10 seconds. The updates of people I’m following automatically generate toolbar pop-ups. When I see an interesting update, I can instantly click on the pop-up notice and respond. Some of the other applications are Tweet-r, Spaz , and Twitterific .

I’m fairly new to this particular social networking tool, but I find it extremely valuable and fun. Although updates are short, the service allows you to insert URLs and participate in new viral marketing techniques. No one is shy about sharing links to great website content or blogs. The best people to follow are the ones who share links to insightful information.

Other than the occasional spammers, who are quickly identified and blacklisted, I think it can be a great means of socializing with the right people and spreading your message. And if I don’t like someone, I can simply unfollow or block them.

The great thing about Twitter is the ability to interact with people you admire, and have the chance to observe or participate in some great conversations, 140 characters at a time.

Pamela Weir is a Marketing Copywriter. If you are looking for a Marketing Professional to assist you with social media, and social networking for your company, please visit her Services page for more information.