Want to go Viral?

In a time when the word “viral” is associated more with a “web sensation” then a disease, it is important for public relations professionals to be able to take advantage of using the Internet to form connections with unintended consumers. Having a video, game, picture, or some other type of item "go viral" allows for opportunities for those types of connections.

Remember the Dancing
Baby from Ally McBeal
circa 1996?

From a PR perspective (but also true from other perspectives), having an Internet or news item go viral on the web means the reach has surpassed its intended audience and is now being reached by consumers who were not originally targeted thus being viewed by thousands or millions of people in a short time period. If the message is positive, then the company or organization has hit the jackpot.

Designing something specifically to go viral is extremely difficult and predicting what Internet surfers want to spend their time looking at is just as, if not more, difficult. In the past few years, social media/networking websites have allowed things to go viral on the Internet easier and occur everyday.

While designing a viral sensation on the Internet might fall on the shoulders of a marketing department (if it's even visible or possible), public relations professionals should be able to identify opportunities if a positive viral item falls into their lap and then be able to promote it and gain further traction and publicity from it.

Of course, further promoting the viral item would only be a plan of action if it's positive. If the viral item is negative, well, that's a whole other discussion.

Some Effects of Social Media on PR

The responsibilities for implementing, overseeing and running a companies or organizations social media strategy or set-up are usually assigned to the public relations or marketing departments. One recent study estimated that public relations or marketing departments control about 90 percent of corporate social media platforms with the other ten percent consisting of a department specifically created for social media. Whenever a company or organization makes an official statement of any sort, the public relations staff is usually involved and that’s a big aspect of the overall plan of action. Even in instances where a marketing or new media department generally oversees social media platforms, the public relations staff is involved in some way, shape or form. After all, any message sent across a social medium platform can be interpreted as an official statement.

It wasn’t imperative for public relations professionals to know much about social media ten or even five years ago, let alone be involved in the planning or dissemination of a social media platform initiative. Only recently have public relations professionals been forced to monitor social media platforms for mentions or hits just as they would if their company was mentioned in the New York Times, Time Magazine or on CNN. As similarly to as when e-mailing a press release became an accepted and commonplace practice, a paradigm shift has occurred for public relations professionals with social media. But unlike the shift to e-mailing press releases, the social media phenomenon that has come about in the last few years is multifaceted to the “nth” degree.

In addition to monitoring the various social media platforms for company or organizational mentions and hits, it is just as imperative for a company or organization to be involved in the social media universe. Being directly involved with a Facebook page or a Twitter account presents the ability for a company or organization to have control of all of the benefits that are available in the social media universe. Even in instances where a marketing or new media department oversees or controls the social media platforms, public relations professionals can still use social media to their benefit and growth of the product they are promoting.

While there are many benefits in the social media universe, there are always disadvantages or consequences that public relations professionals must be aware of. These are just the general effects of social media on the public relations industry. The rest of this exploration on the effects that social media has on public relations will investigate the advantages and drawbacks that public relations professionals face everyday in the social media universe. Understanding the general effects of social media is not enough for public relations professionals because a proverbial star-chart of the advantages and drawbacks of the social media universe is needed to stay on course for today’s public relations expedition.

LINK: Social Media - Hot New Career

While this Yahoo! article has elements that scream it's as much an advertisement as it is an actually article, it does profile six "breakout" careers. No. 1 on their list is "Social Media Strategist".

I do tend to agree that this field is becoming more popular, the author's description is pretty bad:

" Do you love Twitter? Why not get paid to tweet? Seriously! Social media strategists figure out optimal ways to get messages out to the masses using the latest community tools online. This involves blogging, tweeting, and using sites like Foursquare and Facebook to find and communicate with customers. "

What is the description missing? Just the small fact that "loving" Twitter, Facebook and FourSquare is simply not enough to qualify someone for this type of job. Being passionate about a career is very important, but experience is key. Whether it be in Public Relations or Marketing, the social media industry is becoming too complex to jump into without out experience in reaching out to customers/consumers/the public in more traditional terms.

If you want a career in social media, it's best to start from the bottom and work your way up. As in any career field, experience is often the best education. Without the knowledge and experience that education brings, jumping into a more advanced career is exceedingly difficult.

Twitter: @ Vuvuzela Horn

Some Twitter genius created an account for the Vuvuzela Horn that is all the buzz at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The account (@thevuvuzelahorn) has gained over 2,250 followers in the 15 hours since it's first tweet. And predictably, all of its tweets are filled with "zzzzzz" to represent the buzz the Vuvuzela Horn makes.

A Vuvuzela Horn.

In case you do not know what the Vuvuzela Horn is, it's monotone trumpet that produces a buzzing sound and has become South African tradition for soccer games. And yes, some people find insistent sound annoying

Regardless of what the Vuvuzela Horn is, it's Twitter page illustrates how easy it is to gain attention on social media websites with little more then a few "zzzzzzz" 's. (The Vuvuzela Horn also has a facebook page, but as of this post it does not have a large following.)

Simple? Yes. Creative? Very much so.

While the Vuvuzela Horn Twitter page is creative and comical, the next question is: Besides garnering a few laughs, what else can be done?

Not knowing who created the Vuvuzela Horn account, I can't question their motives. However, if a corporation would have created this account (or particularly a World Cup sponsor) they would have been able to slap their logo on the page and receive a good amount of free advertising, marketing and attention.

So, can you create a Vuvuzela Horn-like Twitter account or Facebook page for your business?