Hermanoff Public Relations

I received the following note the other day via LinkedIn, from someone who has apparently been in the business for more than 20 years:

“I found out on a web site called social media today that you have considerable experience in PR and social media expertise.

“Although I also have an extensive PR background, I up to now haven’t needed to get involved in social media very much. My PR areas of expertise are media relations, writing, research, and special events.

“I have developed many customized media lists using Excel.

“Can I somehow use Twitter also to develop customized media lists using media data that I find from a variety of sources, which I do when creating Excel media lists? If I can, how do I go about creating customized Twitter media lists that include writers’ names, title, media name, email address, etc.

“Also, I want to find some articles/case histories that detail how companies have specifically used Twitter and Facebook to in PR campaigns to boost awareness of products and services,

“If you can provide me with links to such articles/case histories, that will be fantastic.

Any questions, send them.”

I responded that the person in question should read this post, and if he wanted to chat further, he could book a two-hour (paid) consult via my assistant.

To which he asked where he could find the post, and made a snarky comment on how perhaps he should become a “social media expert consultant at that hourly rate,” as it’s more than he’s “ever received in PR on hourly basis.”

***

When PRSA asked me to author a guest post on the evolution and elevation of social media, I was wondering how I could do so without stating the obvious: that social is here to stay, it’s not just for the “kids,” and if you haven’t gotten on board that particular bandwagon yet, you should start dusting off the old drum kit pronto.

Then I received this note. And it seemed to me to illustrate exactly how our industry needs to evolve vis-à-vis social media and the elevation thereof.

Clearly there is a sizable group in the industry that is still grappling with social, while grudgingly realizing they need to learn how to deal with it. Despite my irritation at this interchange, I sensed that the arrogance (“Tell me everything I want to know! Do it now! Free!”) and snark (“Whaaa? How do you get away with charging that?!”) were layered on top of confusion and, perhaps, fear. Because while this gent and others of his ilk may see the writing on the wall, clearly they don’t like the story it’s telling.

Social media cannot be elevated from the tactical to the strategic if it continues to be boxed in or silo-d. While its evolution has been breathtaking—a day does not go by that I don’t marvel at what a remarkable time we live in, to literally see technology change the world, minute by minute—it must be invited to sit at the family table, not banished to the kids’ corner.

Public relations practitioners of all stripes must understand this. They must start to respect what social brings to the table, even if they choose not to make that a core part of their business offering. They must start looking at public relations in an integrated and measurable way, because that’s the only way it will be regarded as an integral business function.

That means a genuine desire to learn, grow and engage, resisting the urge to make digs at those who’ve taken the time and trouble to at least be in step with today’s world. That’s what I hope to see happen, and our industry take larger strides toward, in 2014.

Shonali Burke, guest blogger

Shonali Burke was named to PRWeek’s inaugural top “40 Under 40″ list of US-based PRprofessionals and is considered one of 25 women that rock social media. As President & CEO, Shonali Burke Consulting, Inc., she helps take business communication strategy from corporate codswallop to community cool™. Shonali is also Adjunct Faculty at Johns Hopkins University, and publisher of the popular PR and digital media blog, Waxing UnLyrical. The Washington Business Journal recently named her one of 10 CEOs to follow on Twitter… follow their advice by finding her @shonali.

Reposted from: http://prsay.prsa.org PRSA/Editor’s note: This is the finalin a series of guest posts from industry thought leaders predicting key trends that will impact the public relations industry in 2014. Hosted under the hashtag #PRin2014, the series began Jan. 8, 2014, with a compilation post previewing some of the predictions.

Photo Credit: Ikon Images

Thanks to social media, following companies is as easy as watching television. However, the social media world can turn into a cruel one with one wrong move, damaging the reputation you took years to build.

Sarah Skerik of PR Newswire recently gave some good advice on ways to avoid a social media disaster. We’ve tweaked her ideas to focus on avoiding a professional PR crisis:

Keep it clean – While it’s become socially acceptable for TV networks to use language formerly considered vulgar, this is one trend that your business should avoid.
Make sure you want to see it again; it will come back to you – Yes, you’re able to delete any tweet or status update you please. However, there are two reasons doing so is a bad idea: a) someone can still grab a screenshot of your message; and b) backtracking on social media leaves a bad impression on your business.
Consider your stakeholders – If you have any doubts that your message may offend the people you care about – or those you want to respect you – then refrain from posting it. Cool off before you write anything. As your mother probably told you, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all.”
Stay classy – Since no one is perfect, you’re likely to have a dissatisfied customer whose mission in life is to damage your company’s reputation. In situations like these, it’s best to admit wrongdoing on your company’s part and offer a solution to the customer – putting out the fire in the process.
Do some scenario planning – This simply involves thinking before you speak. Don’t just think about the positive outcomes of your message, but also think about the negative responses your message could receive.
Divide and conquer (or don’t mix your accounts) – Every company has a few social media savvy employees to manage the social media accounts. Social media managers must keep their personal profiles distant from the company’s profiles to avoid posting to the wrong account.. And always remember to manage your privacy settings carefully.

The ease of sharing information is what makes social media both a blessing and a curse. With social media, what it all boils down to is being cautious of the message you send.