Communications

The news release is still a part of what we, as communicators, use. It is a tool in our tool belt. How we use it has changed, however. That means that how we develop a news release has had to evolve as well.

There has been a great deal of talk about the social media news release over the years since it was first introduced in 2006. This is a release that may include podcasts, video, images, links, and contact information for potential interviews, among other components.

At AHA, we connect with journalists on a regular basis. We often take the time to reach out to journalists and ask them a few quick questions so that we provide them with information in the way they want to receive it. In our conversations we ask them what we can do better, how they want to get information, what they want to know. Sometimes these questions are in relation to a specific client, sometimes to how technology has changed PR, and sometimes it’s just a quick chat that happens when we’re talking about something else. It’s always very valuable to us.

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There doesn’t seem to be an end in sight for candy maker Nestle. I just checked their Facebook page and the negative comments are still being posted on a regular basis. I also checked out their Twitter accounts (@nestle and @nestlecsv – which stands for creating shared value. While there are plenty of comments to and at Nestle on Twitter, they aren’t tweeting much.

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Being attacked publicly is one of the main concerns that we hear when we speak with new clients about the potential of using social media as a part of their communications efforts. This is a valid concern and one that needs to be addressed, especially for those organizations that have outspoken critics—critics that understand and use social media and other PR tactics.

The challenge that Nestlé is facing is in the use of palm oil in their products.

You only have to read a few comments on its Facebook page to see that people are angry with Nestlé and while the challenge began with a video about Kit Kat put out by Greenpeace, it escalated into something that has now taken on a life of its own.

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…Participating in social media is a great thing for some organizations. However, if your website is out-of-date, stagnant and doesn’t engage the community you want to connect with—social media might not be of much support to your efforts. There are many organizations that jump on the social media bandwagon before they make sure that the foundation of their online outreach—their website—works.

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There is an excellent post on Mashable on The Science of Building Trust With Social Media. The content in this post provides an interesting perspective on what can be achieved through social media and what some of the challenges might be. It is also worth reading the comments below this post to see what others are thinking.

One of the great things about the widespread acceptance of social media is that good organizations, the ones that want to develop and provide good products and services for their customers, have a real opportunity to build trust.

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