These are the common goals of our clients: reputation management, branding, search engine prominence. What we are doing as public relations communicators these days are monitoring blogs, online media and traditional media to determine where our clients are mentioned, where their competition is and how they can participate in online conversations and media opportunities. This is very much a PR function and it is not a new function, but there are new ways to gauge public opinion and develop ways to be part of the stories and to manage communication flow. Any good professional was already focused on establishing two-way communication. We were never about just issuing messages as was reported in a the book,
”Putting the Public Back in Public Relations.” We are not in an aging business if we are working according to professional principals as those who are accredited in PRSA.org are doing.
Messages are still important but they must be incorporated in stories or discussion and backed up with real substance and be relevant to the audience. There is nothing new about that either.
What is really different is the speed of communication and the length of times it remains available for pick up. It can be very instantaneous and can also be dug up years or even decades later. That’s way it still must be thoughtful; there must still be corporate policy, parameters and controls.
What is said at the water cooler in a physical office space versus what is said at the electronic cooler (such as Twitter) are different. One is heard only by a few, and the other has the potential to be heard by millions and around the world—word for word.
We’re monitoring blogs and online exposure to establish what people in our markets are interested in and what the media is covering. It enables us to determine issues, find rumors that need to be addressed, develop story angles and opportunities to participate in the discussions.
Why? The conversation can point back to our web sites and thus us….
• Because we want to be thought leaders…
• We want our web sites to be valued
• Our participation can lead to real opportunities—work that will pay us.
Based on what we learn we can make blog posts, adjust our pay per click ads, modify meta tags within our web site, and develop story angles for presenting or writing in the communication channels important to us and our constituents.
The challenge now is finding the swiftest ways to do this in the course of business. Anyone that was “doing” spin was not a true PR professional in the first place.
Susan: good thoughts about “the book!” And, it has value obviously in stirring this conversation! In the pub. info/PR realm, two-way relationships continue to be foundational. I agree that people-powered content augments (not replaces) both traditional media and expert influences. Reality — we all work within budget limits, and do what we can — oh, there is so much more we could do! The challenges are frustrating but even more — exciting. I’d still like to talk about this book sometime.
Other books in my line up are “Tribes” and “Groundswell” suggested by one of our local PR society members who is savvy in social media.
Website looks great! Thanks for all the wonderful information.