Public Relations Archives - Page 41 of 53

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.

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AHA Flip Cam Friday – July 23, 2010

In today’s video, Ruth talks about how social media has positively influenced PR.

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AHA Take

We had the opportunity recently to speak with Glen Korstrom of Business in Vancouver about the impact that social media has had on the world of public relations. In fact, we’re quoted in his article this week. (You need a subscription to read the piece online.) We were thrilled that we were quoted as a thriving Vancouver PR agency that has embraced social media as a part of our offering.

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I wanted to share a little more of what we discussed. As mentioned in the article, while there are many who do think that the business model for PR is broken, I’m not one of them. I think that it has evolved and that it had to change for many reasons, including social media, but it’s not broken. And let’s keep in mind that we’re talking about the business model here, not the actual work that PR people or communicators undertake on behalf of their clients. How we, as PR agencies, run our businesses and make a profit has had to shift. And for our part, we began shifting years ago and it’s been a positive move for us. We saw the evolution of the business of PR as an opportunity for AHA.

As for the work that we do as communicators, in my opinion, social media has provided us with additional tools and opportunities. But at the core of it all – and I know you’ve heard me say this before – it is strategy. In fact, social media has provided the opportunity to authentically connect with stakeholders in a way that even five years ago, we never dreamed would be possible. Social media is only one component of a communicator’s toolkit and I think it’s important to keep that in mind.

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I don’t think that it’s just social media that has changed the business model. I also think the recent recession had many organizations reviewing how they could get the most value out of their PR or communications budget. Smaller agencies like AHA provide clients with excellent service, we’re really good at what we do, we’re proactive and we’re incredibly responsive to client needs. AND at AHA, a partner works on every account. You don’t meet the senior team at the initial meeting and then get passed off to a more junior person. At the end of the day – in the middle and at the start of it – it’s Paul and I that are connected to the client. Don’t get me wrong; it’s definitely a team effort here. Depending on the project, different members of our crew are actively involved, but accountability and responsibility rest on my shoulders and on Paul’s. We are hearing more and more that this is important to clients and they like that they get top level skill sets with the client service that can only come from a small agency.

I know that we’re not for everyone. And that’s ok with us. The fact is, we choose our clients as carefully as they choose us. When we started AHA, we outlined who we want to be and how we want to spend our time at work. One of the biggest factors for us is that we wanted to find great clients – people who want to create a real partnership, see us as a valuable part of their team, and provide us with the same respect and consideration that we give them. And let me tell you, we have great clients!

Social media and technology have created the need for change in the business model of PR. And I have to say, given our record of success at this new model; we’re pretty excited about it!

What do you think, how has social media changed the business model for PR?

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Photo credit: Pavel Ševela / Wikimedia Commons

There has been quite a bit of buzz recently about the Old Spice social media campaign that has the Old Spice Man replying via video to tweets. The campaign is funny, it’s smart and it showcases just what can be done with social media when you develop a kick ass strategy and identify what the right tools are to deliver on it.

I am sure that a case study on this campaign’s success will appear somewhere in the near future. It would be great to hear from the people who created the campaign on what their objectives were, how this campaign did in their eyes and what benefits the brand received from this unusual and humorous approach to social media.

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