Media Relations In A Social Media World
Do You Have A Social Media Policy In Place?
At AHA, we followed the Domino’s issue and several others quite closely and spent a great deal of time deconstructing the challenges that are now common place because of the widespread adoption of social media.
This article is worth a read. If you don’t have a social media policy in place, it’s important to develop and implement one – no matter how big or small your organization is.
AHA Take
As I write this blog post, I am heading off to meet with a client that is anxious to put a social media policy in place for their organization. We have developed a first draft of the policy, set a straightforward and easy to follow process and protocol. Today, we are going to spend some time going through it and poking holes in it, ensuring that it will work for everyone in this large and diverse organization. This means meeting with a range of individuals who have their own opinions of what is a reasonable social media policy. It’s a step that I think is very important when it comes to putting a social media policy in place. It’s one thing to write a comprehensive policy, quite another to hear feedback from real people who are being asked to adopt this policy.
Many organizations have a media relations policy in place. Only assigned spokespeople have the authority to speak to the media (or other stakeholders) on behalf of the organization. This is standard in our world. However, in all the years I have been doing this, I have only ever heard of a handful of times when a journalist contacted an employee directly, rather than go to the CEO, another senior executive or the communications person. There was usually a specific reason for this approach. Social media is completely different. Staff members have personal Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts. They might blog. They may comment on other blogs. There are new avenues of expression that we’ve never had before. And sometimes people forget just how public social networking sites are. Sometimes, they just need to be reminded and have guidelines and boundaries put in place. A social media policy is a good start.
When you develop yours, make sure it is a policy that is relevant for the people it is written for. Don’t assume that you know or understand the challenges they face. Develop a draft and ask them: “Does this provide accurate and appropriate guidelines for you when it comes to social media usage, relevant to your role at this organization?” This step will help develop a good social media policy.
Creating And Maintaining A Good Corporate Blog
There is a good piece on SherpaBlog that focuses on three steps to take in order to create a good corporate blog. It’s solid information for anyone either thinking about starting a corporate blog or who needs some help maintaining their current one. Equally as valuable are the comments below this blog post. There are lots of experienced people weighing in on the topic.
AHA Take
A corporate blog is a great opportunity to connect with stakeholders. Having more than one blogger can be helpful to keeping the blog content current and engaging.
If you look at a blog much like a magazine or newspaper columnist would approach their work, you would identify the topics or subjects for each post and set a schedule to develop the content.
Making sure that there are new posts uploaded on a consistent basis is crucial. We all know what it’s like to go to a blog that hasn’t had any new content for months.
We often work with clients to develop a blog editorial schedule that helps to manage the blogging process. Depending on the blog, we often assist clients to set up interviews that will provide a different perspective for their blog. We also research stats and facts on topics. It’s easy for someone writing to make an error based on incorrect information or an assumption. If you put up something that is factually incorrect, that can hurt the credibility of your blog.
A well-written, consistent blog can provide great value for an organization both internally and externally. Approaching it like it’s a professional column is a way that we have found to ensure that new content is developed with accurate information, a focus on the reader, and there is a commitment to being accurate and consistent.
What are the key points for you when it comes to your corporate blog?
Wading Into Social Media
PR On Facebook
Love it or hate it, you have to admit, Facebook has created a global online community that offers huge opportunity (and equal risk) for many brands. Recently, Facebook launched a PR on Facebook page that provides some great information on how to use Facebook to connect with your stakeholders, consumers and community.
This is an excellent resource if you are interested in finding out if Facebook would be of value for your organization. And if it is of value, there is lots here that can help you to engage on Facebook.