Adapting To The World Of Social Communications
Every tweet, Facebook update and comment posted online is a form of communication. Whether that comment is on a blog post, news article, YouTube video or Flickr photo, it counts.
So my question is this: Why isn't this content being held to the same high standard and given the same level of thought as traditional communications? I don't know what your answer is to that question, but mine is this: It should be.
In 2010, an increasing number of brands began treating Facebook like the new internet. That's because, for the most part, it is. A Facebook page today is what a website was ten or more years ago. Facebook is a destination site. Actually, it's THE destination site, having surpassed Google as the number one site on the internet.
People spend insane amounts of time there, and this is why businesses are also setting up shop, in droves. I know you've seen marketing material with the Facebook icon or have heard TV commercials and radio spots urging you to follow Brand X on Facebook. If Ford can unveil the 2011 Ford Explorer on Facebook, do I really need to say more?
This time last year, Nielsen reported that the average American spent 421 minutes on Facebook, each month a number that has surely risen since then and will only continue to do so. So what you put there matters.
But this isn't a post about Facebook, it's about social communications as a whole. It is no longer wise to pour over the content of a press release, editing draft after draft until it reaches perfection, while giving very little if any thought at all to how you are going to represent your company across social media channels.
Communications professionals have a new job description, whether they want it or not. It is that of Digital Communicator.
As social media platforms mature, evolve and become even more mainstream, clients need a presence in this space, and the smart, savvy digital communicator will make sure they have one. But it isn't enough to simply show up, you have to actually communicate and have a plan for harnessing the power of new media and getting messages straight to a target audience.
I believe that 2011 is the year to deliver or die. PR professionals have to think more broadly and deliver more value. In the social media space, nothing is too small to matter. We are no longer solely seeking attention of reporters and journalists affiliated with traditional media organizations. It is critical to understand the needs of the new media professional, whether journalist, blogger, power tweeter forum participant or vlogger.
We have to produce the type of content that will increase exposure and extend reach for clients.
So what does all of this entail? New-fangled communications plans with new attitudes right alongside them.
Deliver or die!
Comments
Angela,
Thanks for this post - I think you're absolutely correct. It seems silly to perfect a Press Release and ignore the social media spaces. What I find most intriguing, though, is targeting audiences through social media. It's fun to see how different brands leverage themselves by trying to appeal, through their choice of language and tone, to different age groups on the social media space. There are brands like Vitamin Water, who use a young and snarky tone to appeal to a younger, more vibrant crowd. Their tweets are funny and conversational, their copywriting on packaging is sarcastic and fun, and their Facebook messages are relatable to a young adult crowd. People my age (23) eat that up.
On the other hand, there are companies like Barnes and Noble who seem to be appealing to a bit of an older crowd. Their social media messages are more formal...by the book, if you will (promise, no pun intended). Now, what's funny about B&N is that I think they need to be restructuring themselves to somehow capture a new and younger audience, and I think the social media space is a great place to do that. I wonder, if they realize that they need to target a younger crowd, if their tone will change at all. Will be interesting to watch, as more people turn to online bookstores and places like Barnes and Noble find themselves in trouble as we speak.
Hey Lydia: You know, the only thing I get from Barnes and Noble is e-mail. They are heavy e-mail marketers with coupons, offers and announcements but I have not checked out their SM presence. But there is clearly opportunity there, as you mention.
Based on what you wrote about Vitamin Water it seems like they studied their target audience and found a way to deliver. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Angela
Simply by adjusting the questions you ask when managing your life, you will certainly instantly change your focus
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