Last Thursday, April 8, I attended the PR + Social Media Summit hosted by Comet Branding and Marquette University. Because social media is so new and ever-changing, I enjoy learning as much about it as possible. This event proved to be one of the best public relations related learning experiences of my college career.
The summit was a day full of sessions strictly devoted to the union of communications and social media. And to no ones surprise, the day was also filled with tons of tweeting! (My poor iPhone’s battery drained due to my overzealous tweeting)
Because I attended seven sessions, I absorbed tons of information regarding the integration of public relations and social media. To avoid information overload, I will divide my recaps into multiple posts. Enjoy!
“Retiring the Word doc: How social media killed the press release” Jason Kintzler, Founder of pitchengine.com
As we know, the world of public relations is changing drastically due to the change in technology. Kintzler spoke about the Social Media Release and how it is quickly becoming more popular than the dated (invented in 1906) press release. Here is some information about this new press release:
• SMRs – accessed on Web sites such as pitchengine.com – are easily shareable and more interactive than the traditional version
• Content and writing is still critical when creating SMRs
• A SMR is more about story telling – avoid coming across to marketing-ish
• SMRs allow viewers to ask the creator questions making it easy to manage the conversation around a certain topic
• Sites like pitchengine.com make it easy to direct release to specific audience
• Facebook is surpassing Google as most visited site on Internet making Social Media Optimization (SMO) more valuable than Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• As with all public relations tools, communication comes first – SMR content should be created to engage
Steps to (Modern Day) PR Success
1. Cultivate your networks
2. Create content that provides value to your audience
3. Re-think the metrics for success
4. Listen, respond, repeat
“Community isn’t a buzzword. It’s a business strategy”
Amber Naslund, Director of Community at Radian 6
Naslund was a dynamic speaker who discussed the importance of community and maintaining a relationship with that community. Here are a few key ideas from her presentation:
• Community is a business strategy – not a buzzword
• Conversing and listening is imperative to build a relationship with your community
• Human interaction is key to engaging your community – the platforms will change, but the human interaction never will
• Community must be incorporated in every aspect of a company
“Building community and drawing local foot traffic with social media”
Christine Beuchert, Director of ecommerce and Performance Marketing for Marcus Hotels & Resorts
Beuchert discussed the use of Facebook, Twitter and geo-locators to build loyalty and drive sales. Here are some examples of how she uses these social media tools:
Facebook tactics:
• Promote events
• Promote Facebook page from Web site, e-mail and other media
• Offer coupons or contests to encourage participation and grow community
• To engage, share relevant links and stories from outside your brand
• Target your audience by investing in Facebook ads
Twitter tactics:
• Monitor and respond quickly to customers
• Locate nearby or frequent customers
• Tie foursquare and other location based tools in
Geo-locators, such as foursquare, tactics:
• Offer a foursquare deal, such as recognizing your mayor
• Promote the use of foursquare by making the deal known
• Educate staff members on these new tools
• Tie it in with Twitter
Most importantly when dealing with social media:
1. Have a plan
2. Discuss it with your staff
3. Make it fun and share the job
4. Stay current with changes
For more information about the PR+Social Media Summit, check out the presentations that have been posted on slideshare, the videos that have be uploaded to Vimeo and the hashtag #prsms on Twitter.
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