In today’s AHA Fast Take Friday, Ruth is on Mou Waho Island in New Zealand talking about how important it is to make an experience personal for people.
Putting Things into Context
I have been following several big stories this week, including the tragic Trayvon Martin case and the Jet Blue pilot who had to be subdued by passengers (two of the biggest stories). Both traditional media coverage and social media play a big role in what the public is learning in both these cases.
That got me thinking about context and how it impacts what we take in. I have been as interested in comments on news pieces and the social media discussions as I have been in the traditional media coverage itself. The comments and discussions provide insight and context and that is important. Our world has become more complicated – we have access to many opinions and perspectives. That’s important. It can help us to put information into context and to understand what the actions and reactions mean relevant to social norms and expectations. This gives us a broader scope of understanding, I believe.
However, because so many people have the ability and opportunity to participate in discussions, it’s also important to put the comments and opinions into context. In another completely random – and yet surprisingly related – moment, I was on Amazon.com looking for a book. I was reading reviews and there was one review that was really negative. It stood out from the other good to great reviews. So I checked out the person’s other reviews. She hated everything she read. That allowed me to put the review into context, and in this case, discount her opinion because, for me, she lost credibility. It’s important to keep the comments and discussions in context as well. Don’t take them at face value; make sure you understand the context of the information and of the person making the statements. It might change what you think about a specific topic, subject or issue.
Engaging your senior executive
As I write this, I am on my way to Edmonton to present on the value of media relations and social media to a client’s senior executive team and the board of directors. I love this part of my job. It’s always interesting to hear what the leadership of an organization thinks about media relations and social media – and believe me, it’s different every time.
We are often asked by clients to present to their senior executive, to their board of governors or directors, and to other leaders within their organization. There are times when having an unbiased “outsider” come in and share knowledge and information in this area is beneficial. We don’t have an agenda, we’re not trying to “sell” them on an idea, and we have a range of professional experience that can help put media relations and social media into context for them.
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Reputation management and social media
I’ve written about this before and will write about it again… Be careful what you put on social networking sites—professionally and personally. If you wouldn’t want to see it on the front page of your local newspaper, don’t put it up.
The people on my Facebook page represent a range of relationships to me. Some are close friends, other acquaintances, others are former colleagues and some I have only met either briefly in person or not at all. It’s a bit like a neighbourhood coffee shop where there are a lot of different people hanging out.
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Tell an Engaging Story About Your Organization
At our Vancouver PR agency, we use a range of mediums to tell the stories of our clients, such as: news briefs, news releases, articles, short videos for online use, guerrilla videos, video diaries, video news releases – and in some cases even longer documentary type videos, and Q&As (often paired with video interviews). We also use photos and other visuals to tell a story. And we share them; sometimes with traditional media, sometimes with bloggers, on social media networks, at events, workshops and other meeting venues, and of course, internally.