Social Media: A Convergence of Marketing and Public Relations

It's no secret that industry standards for both the marketing and public relations fields have evolved with the advent of social media. Both fields have been able to take advantage of communicating directly with their customers by engaging them in an interactive way, informing them of newsworthy, and relevant information, and most importantly, learning from their responses. Since social media provides all these opportunities, it has resulted in a convergence of marketing and public relations tactics in order to effectively communicate directly to the consumer. And it has changed the way we communicate.

Whether a company is seeking to spread awareness of a new product, alert interested enthusiasts about an upcoming event, discuss relevant news topics, or is looking to take control of a crisis management issue, social media has been the platform to accomplish all this and more in a timely, direct fashion. Bypassing all other forms of media to speak directly to the consumer is something that every company will find value in. But they have to be careful about how, what and when they communicate. As a result, many traditional marketing agencies have joined with public relations firms, or have incorporated public relations practitioners or corporate communication specialists into their agencies. This ensures they deliver success to clients' social media needs—from blogging, to YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Social media has fostered the integration of marketing and public relations into many agencies, and industry news has validated this successful trend.

The PRSA (Public Relations Society of America), along with many other professional organizations, have been holding countless seminars, workshops and webinars that provide tips and tricks of the trade to ensure success in social media by combining marketing and public relations efforts into one cohesive messaging strategy. Some of the best practices reported along the way are:

• Aim to be an informer not a 'me'former. Meaning, tell people what they want to hear, and discuss, not just all about you or your company.
• Before you post something, ask 'Will people really care?'
• Make sure all content shared is relevant and interesting. Have a personality but keep it concise and easy to read.
• Pass the '70/20/10 test': 70% of content should share, 20% should connect, and 10% should be in 'me'form (information about your company or yourself).
• Listen. It's as simple as that. Listen to what people are saying within your industry, about you and your company (the good AND the bad).
• Work with the approval process, not against it. Set a social media policy that all involved agree to, in order to deliver and maintain a timely communication strategy.
• Be engaged. Don't just be a message board; be accessible and open to have a conversation. There is a reason it is called 'social' media.

Specifically, for public relations tactics, social media has allowed for: pitching directly to consumers rather than reporters and editors; a better understanding of what editors and reporters are interested in when a feature in print is warranted; the ability to respond to and inform consumers directly and immediately; direct communication from consumers, and it has also provided new online communities. This might sound intimidating and overwhelming, which is why some companies and their legal departments have been late to take advantage of social media, but due to the continued success from companies such as Best Buy, Coca-Cola, and MasterCard (to name a few), they are seeing that success is possible and attainable. We are helping our clients embrace social media and incorporate it into their marketing strategy by building interactive online communities and we can't wait to see the positive results!

Stay tuned for our own case studies to show how these best communication practices, when incorporated with strategic marketing plans, can ensure success with social media.