I previously wrote about using social media as part of a crisis communication plan. About a month ago, Tonya Garcia of PRNewser tackled this topic using General Electric as an example of how not to use Twitter to deceive the public. More importantly, Ms. Garcia detailed three steps that will help turn a negative PR event into a one that will not sting as much.
The article focused on using Twitter to help set the record straight, but in my opinion other social media platforms can be used just as effectively. For example, Facebook can be used to host Q&A chats and post responses.
The point isn't about which social media platform would work better in this situation, rather this should serve as a reminder for public relations professionals to include using social media as part of your crisis communication plan because it's the quickest and most direct way to communicate with all of your audiences. Just make sure you tell the truth.
Showing posts with label Advantages. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Advantages. Show all posts
A Voice to Defend
Social media platforms give organizations (and public relations professionals) a quick and direct voice to the world and that voice could be used to communicate with and to the media.
In the old paradigm, an organization would have to place an opinion-editorial column in a newspaper if they needed to voice their opinion on a subject or defend themselves, usually written by public relations professionals. Today, social media platforms allow organizations to directly and instantly communicate their desires. An important aspect of this is communicating directly with the media, especially if the specific media in question is the intended direction of defense.
In the sports Twitterverse (Twitter Universe), I have seen a more then a few teams defend themselves to journalists on Twitter or Facebook after a story or column ran that they felt was incorrect or inappropriate. Social media platforms give teams a voice to fight back and this is something that journalists didn’t have to deal with as frequently in the past. This isn’t an action I would recommend a team’s public relations staff take regularly, but if appropriate, it can be a great tool for them.
Social media platforms allow for public relations professionals to fight back when they receive media coverage that they believe is in error. This is a dangerous method to use because it is usually public for everyone to see (as oppose to a private phone call, e-mail or letter), but if the timing is correct it is an advantageous tool to use, although one that should be used extremely carefully, selectively and seldom.
Update: April 1, 2011
Along the same lines as the blog post above, social media platforms allow for an immediate avenue of access for crisis communication plans. As part of the old news cycle, responses driven by public relations professionals were at the mercy of the news cycle. With social media, a crisis communication plan can start immediately with your side/response at the forefront of the news. Social media should be part of every crisis communication plan.
In the old paradigm, an organization would have to place an opinion-editorial column in a newspaper if they needed to voice their opinion on a subject or defend themselves, usually written by public relations professionals. Today, social media platforms allow organizations to directly and instantly communicate their desires. An important aspect of this is communicating directly with the media, especially if the specific media in question is the intended direction of defense.
In the sports Twitterverse (Twitter Universe), I have seen a more then a few teams defend themselves to journalists on Twitter or Facebook after a story or column ran that they felt was incorrect or inappropriate. Social media platforms give teams a voice to fight back and this is something that journalists didn’t have to deal with as frequently in the past. This isn’t an action I would recommend a team’s public relations staff take regularly, but if appropriate, it can be a great tool for them.
Social media platforms allow for public relations professionals to fight back when they receive media coverage that they believe is in error. This is a dangerous method to use because it is usually public for everyone to see (as oppose to a private phone call, e-mail or letter), but if the timing is correct it is an advantageous tool to use, although one that should be used extremely carefully, selectively and seldom.
Update: April 1, 2011
Along the same lines as the blog post above, social media platforms allow for an immediate avenue of access for crisis communication plans. As part of the old news cycle, responses driven by public relations professionals were at the mercy of the news cycle. With social media, a crisis communication plan can start immediately with your side/response at the forefront of the news. Social media should be part of every crisis communication plan.
Advantages of SM (Cont.): Social Media = Increased Contacts
More Outlets to Reach Out
Complementing the advantage of the social media news cycle are the advantages that social media platforms and blogs provide as additional media outlets to pitch products and/or stories to. Public relations professionals have been able to reach out to blogs for at least five years, but every day gives birth to more blogs that are accepted as legitimate sources for news and commentary just as a newspaper would be. As such, public relations professionals must stay on top of new, legitimate blogs as resource to reach out just as they would with new print publications.
As reaching out to bloggers has become a commonplace practice for public relations professionals, contacting Tweeters (a person on/using Twitter) is the next big step for public relations professionals. While Tweeter could be anyone, public relations professionals can concentrate on print/web journalists, bloggers or savvy social media users that have a large following to reach out to with story or product ideas. If pitched successfully, a Tweeter with a large following can deliver a quick news tidbit, opinion and/or website link about a company or organization. Depending on the size of the Tweeters following, this information is directly delivered to consumers as quickly as hard breaking news can be.
My Take: A Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. user makes a conscious decision to follow someone on that service and as such they tend to accept their opinions at face value. So if the Tweeter recommends a website or product, their followers are more likely to, at least, check it out or look at it then if they went to a third party news source that offers less interaction between author and reader.
Even with the limit of 140 characters on Twitter, a well-placed Tweet can provide as much or better exposure then a commentary in a print publication. Pound-for-pound, Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms hold their own for product placement.
Complementing the advantage of the social media news cycle are the advantages that social media platforms and blogs provide as additional media outlets to pitch products and/or stories to. Public relations professionals have been able to reach out to blogs for at least five years, but every day gives birth to more blogs that are accepted as legitimate sources for news and commentary just as a newspaper would be. As such, public relations professionals must stay on top of new, legitimate blogs as resource to reach out just as they would with new print publications.
As reaching out to bloggers has become a commonplace practice for public relations professionals, contacting Tweeters (a person on/using Twitter) is the next big step for public relations professionals. While Tweeter could be anyone, public relations professionals can concentrate on print/web journalists, bloggers or savvy social media users that have a large following to reach out to with story or product ideas. If pitched successfully, a Tweeter with a large following can deliver a quick news tidbit, opinion and/or website link about a company or organization. Depending on the size of the Tweeters following, this information is directly delivered to consumers as quickly as hard breaking news can be.
My Take: A Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. user makes a conscious decision to follow someone on that service and as such they tend to accept their opinions at face value. So if the Tweeter recommends a website or product, their followers are more likely to, at least, check it out or look at it then if they went to a third party news source that offers less interaction between author and reader.
Even with the limit of 140 characters on Twitter, a well-placed Tweet can provide as much or better exposure then a commentary in a print publication. Pound-for-pound, Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms hold their own for product placement.
Tags:
Advantages,
Facebook,
Pitching,
Twitter
Advantages of Social Media: Continuous News Cycle
Social media platforms offer many advantages that public relations professionals not only should take advantage, but also must take advantage of in order to stay with the innovation curve of the trade. These range from changes in the new cycle, reaching out to and making new connections with the media and to producing instant statements to the world.
The Continuous News Cycle
One aspect or feature of using any social media platform that stands out among others is the quickness of being able to share and spread information. The information being shared could be personal, opinion based or most importantly for this topic, news worthy.
Here's one take: Any type of service that allows a reporter to deliver breaking news to thousands/millions of people in literally two seconds is going to stick around. Social media platforms such as Twitter - or Facebook with its status updates - has the ability to deliver information to an unlimited amount of people simultaneously.
What makes this different from television or a news website is that social media platforms aggregate information from different sources into one place, meaning, a user on Twitter can be following numerous news reporters and Twitter’s website or a Twitter application or program will continuously compile the Tweets of everyone who they are following and deliver the information in one place. Facebook’s interface or feed is very similar. Instead of watching multiple news channels on television or constantly refreshing or visiting multiple websites, a social media user can view information from several sources at the same time and in one place.
Why is this an advantage to public relations professionals? It is an advantage because social media platforms allow for quick, easy and mass dissemination of news and/or press releases to an audience either through news reporters, fellow followers (through forwarding, ReTweeting) or the company itself. Just as the Internet threw out the traditional 24-hour news cycle, social media is retransforming the Internet news cycle which is no longer limited to the time of how often a website is revisited, but how often any news organization updates one of its social media feeds.
The Continuous News Cycle
One aspect or feature of using any social media platform that stands out among others is the quickness of being able to share and spread information. The information being shared could be personal, opinion based or most importantly for this topic, news worthy.
Here's one take: Any type of service that allows a reporter to deliver breaking news to thousands/millions of people in literally two seconds is going to stick around. Social media platforms such as Twitter - or Facebook with its status updates - has the ability to deliver information to an unlimited amount of people simultaneously.
What makes this different from television or a news website is that social media platforms aggregate information from different sources into one place, meaning, a user on Twitter can be following numerous news reporters and Twitter’s website or a Twitter application or program will continuously compile the Tweets of everyone who they are following and deliver the information in one place. Facebook’s interface or feed is very similar. Instead of watching multiple news channels on television or constantly refreshing or visiting multiple websites, a social media user can view information from several sources at the same time and in one place.
Why is this an advantage to public relations professionals? It is an advantage because social media platforms allow for quick, easy and mass dissemination of news and/or press releases to an audience either through news reporters, fellow followers (through forwarding, ReTweeting) or the company itself. Just as the Internet threw out the traditional 24-hour news cycle, social media is retransforming the Internet news cycle which is no longer limited to the time of how often a website is revisited, but how often any news organization updates one of its social media feeds.
Tags:
Advantages,
News Cycle,
Twitter,
Updates
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