Social Media and the Public Relations Profession

Unless you have been hiding under a rock recently, I am sure you are well aware of the rise in social media use among communicators and consumers alike; however, you may be unaware of the benefits this new media has for public relations practitioners or how it could be applicable to your future company or clients.

On Thursday, April 1 Jessica Dennis and Karen Buckoski of Red Shoes PR visited UW Oshkosh’s PRSSA to present about social media and the impact it has on the public relations industry.

To begin, the women discussed the current state of the news media. According to a PEW Research study titled The State of the News Media 2010, there has been a recorded change in advertising revenue across almost all avenues of the news media – and not surprisingly that change has been negative. Because the media landscape is shifting, the public relations industry is also changing. Social media is allowing public relations professionals to act like publishers, and fortunately these professionals are very capable and prepared to take on this new role.

This shift from PR 1.0 to PR 2.0 has eliminated the middlemen and allowed PR professionals to create and distribute information without going through any gatekeepers, such as journalists. According to Dennis and Buckoski, a beneficial social media tool for PR professionals is a Social Media Release (SMR). A SMR (which can be created through sites such as pitchengine.com) is helpful in that it is easily shareable content. You can include links and images throughout, making viewers more likely to pass the information along within their online communities. These SMRs are also measurable; you are able to track how many people clicked-through to view the release.

Because social media has created a surge in online communities, people are becoming less reliable on traditional media to gain information. However, Dennis and Buckoski stressed that it is important to remember that social media is a tactic and should align with the business plan, goals and target audience of the organization. It works best when combined with traditional media, along with other tactics, and is not an end all be all.

Sharing quality information and openly communicating with your audiences is essential in utilizing social media effectively. Online communities can help spread information about products and services (good or bad) and it is important for companies to participate and monitor these conversations.

Dennis and Buckoski put together Rules of Engagement. A brief review of these rules is as follows:

1. Engage
Don’t spam
Have a conversation
Don’t continually talk about your product or service (avoid doing so if possible)

2. Transparency
Companies should not use logo as avatar because of the impersonal feel
Instead opt for using a friendly face within the company

3. Authenticity

4. Communicate

5. Share/Don’t plagiarize/Cite your sources

6. Listen
Respond promptly when people are communicating with you

7. Mistakes may occur, but how you recover is more important than ever

8. It’s all about relationships


Starting slow with social media is key. You are building relationships, and that takes time. When getting started you should find out where your audience is participating online and identify influencers. You should also begin to read industry blogs and apply the information learned when participating in social media. In some cases, one social media outlet will work better for you than others; remember that it is OK to try a variety of social media tools. Overall, it is important to be yourself, make friends and share quality information.

And as with any other public relations tactic – content is king. You need to adapt your message to fit the audience you are targeting and ensure that the information is relevant to that particular group.

The world of social media is ever changing. As of right now, no one person can call him or herself an expert. It is important as future public relations professionals that we keep up to date with this shift and continue to educate ourselves on this increasing new form of media.

To view Dennis and Buckoski’s entire presentation via slideshare, please visit their blog at www.redshoespr.com/blog/.

What are your thoughts on the ever-changing landscape of social media? As future public relations professional do you value you this new media?