New Media & Public Relations

Today

• How online communications have changed

• Definitions of social media• The importance of conversations• Audience expectations• Tools and opportunities

Before the days of New Media

How do you think PR was done?• Press releases (faxed)• Newsletters (mailed)• Magazines (print only)• Communications(one-way)• Mainstream media coverage• Top down control

PR 1.0

Basically, Bernays is the inspiration for the PR 1.0 publicity and spin machine and the architect of how a majority of companies still approach PR today—even though this is all changing right before our eyes.

~ Author Deirdre Breakenridge

Now…What has changed – how is it done now?• We still write press releases but…• 24/7 news cycle• Internet• Mobile devices• Blogs, Video, Podcasts• Two-way• No direct control• Anytime, anywhere, anything, any device

New Media

• In traditional media forms, companies were able to control their reputation through relationships with journalists.

• Now with the new media shift, there is a change of power from the professionals to the general population.

• Now, companies and their public relations practitioners need to develop transparency in their reputation management planning.

• Companies need to reach out and engage audiences,

but many don’t know how to do this correctly…

PR 2.0

It’s an understanding of markets, the needs of people, and how to reach them at the street level—without insulting everyone along the way. PR will become a hybrid of communications, evangelism, and Web marketing.

~ Author Brian Solis

One of the problems I identify in terms of developing social PR is the difficulty many

businesses have in producing regular content. By this I mean news releases,

comment, blog posts etc. Content creation, and the community and discussion that

develops around that content, is one of the biggest factors in social media.

Robin Cannon, web designer

PR Communication Models

Press agent/publicity model

Uses persuasion and manipulation to influence audience to behave as the organization desires

One-way communication Any press is good press Think, celebs and publicity

stunts

Public Information model

Uses press releases and other one-way communication techniques to distribute organizational information.

One-way communication Sends out truthful information Journalistic approach Marketing & Ad tactics

Two-way asymmetrical model

Uses persuasion and manipulation to influence audience to behave as the organization desires.

Generally short-term attitude change

Scientific persuasion- takes feedback to tailor message

Think, focus groups

Two-way symmetrical model

Uses communication to negotiate with publics, resolve conflict, and promote mutual understanding and respect between the organization and its public(s).

Mutual benefits Ask public what they want

and how to motivate them to act; open & honest

Think, social media

It’s not just about sending out information – Look for the mutual benefits!

New Media PR Tips

• Spend time doing the research! Find bloggers (and sites) that fit your clients’ audiences. Then observe them. Watch how they connect with their readers. Get involved.

• Remember that not all bloggers are the same. You have editors, hobbyists, journalists, and other media-types. Personalize your contact to each one (never write Dear Blogger or mass email).

• Learn about SEO (search engine optimization). It’s more than just Google ranks. It increases website traffic, raises brand awareness and can lead into large conversion rates.

• Look for sites other than YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. They can work, but only if it makes sense. Just because it’s there does not mean you should use it. The next slide has tons of site ideas to use…

What is social media / Web 2.0?

• Digital tools and services that allow content creation with little to no technical knowledge

• Consumer-created content• Personal profiles• Shared interests / online communities• Repurposing of content

“Join the conversation”

• Dozens / hundreds of conversations taking place every day online about your organization

• Who is talking? Who is listening?

• What are they saying?

• What are you saying in response?

• Examples: Dell, Target

Why join the conversation?

• To correct misconceptions• To provide less formal interaction with your organization• To strengthen connection to your organization• To build community• To empower your community to speak for you• Improve search engine rankings• The media listens, too

To succeed with any of these tools…

• Be a consumer• Know your audience• Know your goals• Be relevant, honest and timely• Understand and watch your stats• Listen• Content is still king

But before you start talking…

• Listen• Read• Ask• Plan• Implement• Listen / Monitor• Regroup• Revise

CASE STUDY

Case Study - The Body Shop - Social Media

Objectives

In August 2008 The Body Shop was due to launch their new global website along with two brand new product ranges; Wellbeing and Nature’s Mineral Make-up. In a bid to understand what was being said about The Body Shop online the company approached bigmouthmedia to raise customer awareness and gauge public perceptions prior to the launches.

The objectives of the campaign were:• To use The Body Shop’s new campaign ‘Nature’s Way to Beautiful’

as a hook to launch The Body Shop’s new global website• To organise the online launch of the two new products; Wellbeing

and Nature’s Minerals Make-up• To raise awareness of new products• To achieve global online media coverage

The Solution

Bigmouthmedia immediately undertook a brand perception landscape audit in order to establish what was being said about The Body Shop online and to identify the key online influencers in the beauty and cosmetic industry.

An online social media campaign was set up in order to engage with stakeholders and consumers about The Body Shop’s new global website and two new product ranges.

The use of social media enabled the bigmouthmedia online PR team to engage with many stakeholders and consumers across the world on a daily basis, generating news and discussion and gauging feedback.

Throughout the campaign, messages were not only communicated about the new website and products but also focused on The Body Shop’s campaigns and values that they are involved with in order to reaffirm The Body Shop’s ethical roots.

The actions undertaken included:

• Social networking with key online influencers• Blogger outreach work• Online community participation• Distribution of PR’s and social media news releases• Viral promotion campaign

ResultsAs a result of the month long campaign:

More than 71,000 full page reads of online press information were triggered

Coverage ran on 17 key online influencing blogs, which created buzz and conversation around the products, including product reviews

As a direct result The Body Shop achieved offline press attention covering both the new website and the new product ranges

• One of the highest ranked blogs within Technorati’s top 100 blogs ran the story. The blog has a readership of over 10,400 readers

• The campaign had a direct result on the traffic driven to the new website and those consumers on whom the campaign had an effect spent increased time on the site

Online VideoMost share what they watch with others

Capturing, uploading, and sharing video

• Camera• Microphone• Editing software• File format (.flv)• Permission• Lots of good how-to info. Online• Pseudo videos• YouTube - share, embed

Twitter

Immediate, brief, globalSocial messaging

MobileMini, constant blogIncreasing news use

Ideas for How to Use Twitter for Marketing & PR

1.Engage your CEO in social media.2.Keep in touch with bloggers / media. 3.Monitor your company / brand on Twitter. 4.Announce specials, deals or sales. 5.Live updates on events or conferences6.Promote blog articles, webinars, interesting news and more.

Read more: http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/4034/How-to-Use-Twitter-for-Marketing-PR.aspx#ixzz1CE2yKsvV

http://mashable.com/2011/03/08/social-pr-campaigns/

Blogging: content options

• About your organization• About your field• About your profession• About a particular area of expertise• About an event

From the painfully obvious files - don’t blog unless you have something to say!

Facebook & Organizations

• 300 million people can’t be wrong (or can they?)

• Do you have an audience and content?

• Are you ready for interaction?

• Start small

Podcasting - What and how?

• Plan - live event? Scripted story? Images?• Shorter is often better• Recorder, mic, software, RSS feed

• Check out Prweek’s weekly podcasts:http://www.prweek.com/uk/audiovideo/

Marketing your podcast

• Register with iTunes• Prominent link to it from your Web site• Register with podcast search engines• Include podcast information in your news releases

Going mobile

• Content is being captured by mobile devices

• Align your content with these devices

• Understand you are not the main content provider for your content

Assignment

1. Get into small groups2. Choose 2 New Media platforms to investigate3. Research how PR practitioners have used these platforms4. Explore a campaign

– What happened?– Was it successful?– What were the advantages to using this platform?– What were the disadvantages?

Put together a small presentation (with PP slides) and report your findings back to the rest of the class.

Websites to start looking at:

• http://www.prweek.com/uk/home/• http://prblog.typepad.com/strategic_public_relation/

2005/09/20_creative_use.html• http://www.brandrepublic.com/• http://teachingpr.blogspot.com/2007/12/5-best-podcasts-for-pr-

students.html• http://www.markettiers4dc.com/