Social media – how impactful is it?

I’ve watched with some interest as many of my peers have got very excited about social media.

I'm intrigued by social media's power and ability to spread information. I especially like the fact that it is global. I’ve been a member of facebook for nearly two years, Linked-in and blogger for three. And I joined twitter a couple of months ago. Currently I am following Obama on twitter. Yesterday I joined Xing. You can probably tell that I’m a little obsessed with it. And it seems that everyone else is too judging by all the headlines in the marketing and PR magazines/blogs. But who is using these applications? And should PRs and marketers consider them?

You would think the whole world was at it from the miles of media coverage on social marketing in traditional media, online and in PR and marketing literature. But not everyone is using social networking. While nearly all my friends use facebook, and even their parents in some cases, not everyone is logging in as regularly as I do. Busy mums log in about once or twice a month. Only 1% of my friends are using twitter. About 5% use Linked in. And a handful of my friends have a blog – mostly about traveling or living as an expat. We're in our thirties so perhaps we're not the target audience. And this is why I don't consider it as the "white knight" that everyone else does.

I believe that social media can complement traditional communications channels but will not replace them, for now. We should not rely on social networking sites entirely to promote our brand especially if our target audience is not using it (which goes without saying). However, PRs and marketers should consider it, investigate it and find out whether it fits their company's objectives and is used by their target audience. Time will tell though and you never know, the majority of people over 40 might be on facebook and tweetering daily by the end of 2009. But as yet, I'm not convinced.

Celebrities - tips on how to use them to boost your media coverage

Using celebrities to front your PR and marketing campaigns can increase your media coverage immensely and can get you into the leading newspapers, websites, radio and even on TV. But there can be some pitfalls. This article explains the great benefits. What can happen when things go wrong. And also what to look out for when hiring a celebrity.

One of the best and most professional people I've worked was Gordon Ramsay. He was incredibly professional and enthusiastic about the job we hired him for. He used our key messages in the interviews we set up for him, he worked overtime to do an interview for Channel 4 news and he had everyone who worked with him eating out of his hand because of his graciousness. And he got us hundreds of positive articles in the media all over the UK. He was well worth the money that we invested in him to boost our brand and campaign.

But hiring celebrities does not always give you positive results. You have to be very careful when choosing the right one. Celebrities who are late, demanding, go off message and generally upset your company can cause incredible damage to your and your company's reputation. This damage can take a long time to resolve. So it's important to try and prevent a huge mistake before it happens.

Would I hire Gordon Ramsay today? Probably not. His brand is currently generating a lot of negative media. So he would not be the ideal person to front a campaign. He would become the story, rather than the product. (I strongly believe that Gordon Ramsay will be able to rebuild his reputation over time. This is because his brand does not involve him being a "good boy" so it will be much easier for him to make a comeback.)

So my top tips for using celebrities for campaigns include:

1. Does the celebrity fit the campaign e.g. use a celebrity chef to front a food campaign.


2. Is his/her reputation currently good? Make sure you do your research on the celebrity.


3. Is he/she relevant in the current market.


4. Do your target audiences like this person? Would they buy something from them? Is he an opinion leader?


5. Produce a contract with the celebrity's agent detailing exactly what you expect the celebrity to do and for how long. Make sure that the agent is clear that you will expect something in return if the celebrity does not complete his contract.


6. Brief the celebrity on exactly what you need them to say and do. Ensure they understand your key messages. Continue to monitor the situation throughout the contract period.

Remember you are hiring them to do a job so you need to ensure that they boost your company's reputation not hurt it.

Be accountable - make sure you show your value

When I first started my career I worked for a global company who had huge budgets for luxury events, sponsorship and PR. We organised some fantastic activities that were well attended by journalists and key stakeholders such as big buyers from the nation's biggest supermarkets and wholesalers. One day we got a new director. He asked me to present our activities to him. While very impressed with our activities, his main questions were:

What value are we adding?
What is the return on investment?
How do we measure the success of our campaigns?

I was embarrased. We'd spent thousands. And yes they were great activities but what was the impact on the bottom line?

Many companies are run by financial leaders. So you have to make sure you speak their language when presenting your PR strategy to them. You need to present the value you add to your company. If you don't prove the value of your work then it could be seen as "non-essential". Common sense tells you that "non-essential" work is likely to be cut during difficult times, like recessions.

PR industry still going strong and employment expected to increase by 18%

"Employment of public relations specialists is expected to grow by 18 percent from 2006 to 2016, faster than average for all occupations..." US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

This is fantastic news for PR professionals or people wanting to enter the industry.

Also according to a report on Reuters today (10 March) PR is still going strong despite the recession in the US.

Nick Brien, a senior executive of advertising giant Interpublic Group said: “U.S. ad budgets could be down 20 percent, although spending on marketing, like special promotions or public relations, should hold up better”.

One of the reasons that PR will hold up better than advertising is because editorial is not paid for. However, you still need to have the skills to sell a good package to the media. But this does not cost thousands of dollars/pounds. What you need is a good story, a good promotion, an innovative product, something relevant, creative and of interest to the readers of the media you are trying to get coverage in. And you need to be able to sell this to the editorial team.

Developing your brand

When developing your company brand, you must consider your vision, mission and core values.

Who are you? (Mission)
Where do you want to be? (Vision)
What core values will take you there?

These are the questions you need to ask yourself when developing your brand. Then you must go back to these clear values for everything you do. Your vision, mission and values should be reflected in the imagery associated with your organization, the words you use, the actions you take and the type of employees you hire. Think about how you want to be perceived by your audiences.

E.g. If you claim to be a dynamic and creative organization – then your employees must reflect this. If they’re quiet and interested in details then they won’t fit your brand. This is not to say that people with these attributes are not needed in your company. In fact a good mix of personalities and skill sets makes the perfect team. But you should consider who will be handling the client facing work and whether they reflect your mission, vision and values.

PR is essential during a recession

Good news. More and more companies are seeing the benefits of investing in public relations. According to the February issue of B2B magazine, many organisations during the recession are investing more or maintaining their budget in PR. ,

During these tough times PR specialists will be heavily involved in employee communications, media relations, developing copy to attract prospects and utilising online PR. Getting good positive messages out to your external stakeholders remains essential. While, honest regular communication with employees is a must. If you don't communicate openly, your stakeholders will make it up.

PR is now seen as an essential tool during the worldwide recession. And with little overheads but a huge amount of skills, the industry is finally being recognised for what it contributes to business and ultimately the economy.