Social Media Pages

When creating content that reaches consumers it is important as a public relation professional to optimize all social networking pages. According to David Meerman Scott in The New Rules of Marketing and PR, there are many strategies and tactics that one can develop in order to optimize the maximum potential of outreach.

 It is first important to target a specific audience. As a professional it is important for a client or organization to reach those who are significant to their company. By targeting one specific or small niche market the success rate may be more obtainable.

Scott then discusses how it is important that the user-generated content is useful. It is important to provide the ‘publics’ or targets with valuable information. This is the time to really demonstrate the client’s expertise in the market. During this process it is essential for a professional to be authentic as this is a company’s credibility.

With optimizing social network pages it is important to create a large number of links to all extensions of a brand or client. By providing many routes of information consumers may interact more with the company as a whole. When doing this one should also provide valuable contact information.

It is important to encourage consumers to contact or participate in online conversations. Creating online groups and discussions denote the idea of a credible organizer and leader. The public wants to interact and by providing the avenue to do so can only be beneficial to any company or organization.

With any public relation professional or representative of an organization, social media pages will help with outreach. These are just a few of the strategies one can use to optimize all social media but are very effective. Scott suggests these ideas and experimentation of sites like Facebook, Twitter, etc. I found these methods to be very useful and will utilize these suggestive tools to maximize my message outreach.

Search Engine Optimization

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of changing a website’s content, code and tags, in order to improve the visibility within one or more search engines. Basically, this is an advantage for those who have pre-existing knowledge and want to increase the likelihood of their page, company, and or product being seen by others. There are three main components to achieve full SEO potential.

Crawling is one term that may be described as programs from search engines such as Google have the ability to look for new Web pages throughout the entire internet. Indexing is when search engines take all information it receives and then categorizes it. The last component is search results. Search results are after users enter search query, search engine matches pages that are most relevant.

SEO would not technically be considered social media but that it is important for us as public relation professionals and new social media users to understand it. Search engine optimization is important for us to understand as it allows us to influence how easily others find us.

I believe this is an amazing advantage for someone trying to get their message or presence out there. Public relation professionals are turning to this more and more as it becomes a growing field.

One implication is that optimizing other social media content may be considered or often is a public relation function. Using hash tags in tweets and tags in blog posts are just some of the examples this may be used.

Although search engine optimization would not be considered social media it is still an important aspect. Understanding the three components of how this process works will only benefit future public relation professionals. It is with greater knowledge we may be able to influence our publics and succeed in the ever-changing business world.

Strategic Plan: WikiLeaks

From a public relation perspective on the matters of the WikiLeaks that have impacted everyone and the U.S. State Department, it is through social media one may suggest such methods of beginning to repair the problems. It is important for the U.S. State Department’s strategic communicator or public relation representative to understand how the issue should be addressed.

When analyzing the crisis at hand it is important to first think about the scope of the problem.  As a public relation professional it is important to evaluate who the ‘targets’ or ‘publics’ of your client that are affected. One can assume that these issues affect all U.S. Citizens, family of the military, the U.S. State Department, the general media, and possibly elected officials.

In this specific situation a strategy must be developed next.  The representative must attempt to restore confidence back in the eyes of American and our government. I believe the leaks need to be addressed and the State Department needs to take responsibility. Everything from this point will be made in attempts to restoring credibility.

Tactically, social media would have to be used to accompany the strategy. I propose that there might be a live viral feed for questions and answers concerning the leaks. By using social media sites like Facebook or Twitter they may be able to highlight important messages and not come across as ignoring their publics.

The founder of WikiLeaks Julian Assange has argued that he is doing a public service by making transparent the dealings of “corrupt and murderous regimes.” In my opinion the issues need to be addressed but this statement comes across as personal agenda. The commentary is a bit biased and not targeting the best interest of everyone involved or affected.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/official-wikileaks-greatest-danger-loss-trust/story?id=12263971

"The Social Network"

The movie “The Social Network” is a dramatized version of the development of Facebook. The movie focuses on the idea of Harvard undergrad and computer genius Mark Zuckerburg creating a new social media site of blogging and programming. The success of the young entrepreneur faces the complications and issues that affect his personal and own legal matters.

With pre-existing knowledge of social media and the many aspects that play a role in its overall effectiveness, I was able to draw some conclusions from the movie. After evaluating the contents of how a social network works and the different nodes and links, we come to network centrality.

Network centrality refers to the extent to which a network revolves around a single node. More specifically, the central node would be considered to hold complete power of the network. The movie itself allows its viewers to take a deeper look into the power of centrality. A better understanding of how one person or network can affect so many.

When considering the idea of network centrality from a public relation perspective the general notion should motivate any of those in the business of making connections. The movie really demonstrates how social media can and will play a role in the years to come. The structure of the movie focuses on Facebook but is similar to that of all other social media sites and what they have the capacity to achieve.

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and hope everyone has a chance to go out and see it. The movie itself allows people to take a general overview of what social media can do. From a public relations perspective it helps me as a student make the connections with terminology and reality. I now have a better understanding of centrality and how I might use this in future career opportunities.

Facebook Email?

There has been a lot of talk and speculation about Facebook since they newly revealed that they had acquired the Fb.com domain.  I recently came across this article where there have been many discussions about the upcoming Web 2.0 Summit meeting taking place Monday.

Mashable sources indicate that from the following invitations they are able to conclude that the meeting will be concerning their new overhaul in the messaging system. “The invitations we received prominently display the inbox icon used in the company’s iPhone and Android apps. That’s why we believe this event will almost certainly be about a revamping of Facebook’s messaging and inbox system.”

Many questions arise when considering that Facebook has proven to exceed limits and provide continuous innovation as the social media world changes. Will Facebook now be competing as an email provider?  Being such a power player one has to wonder if they have the tools to compete with others such as Google or Yahoo.

Whatever the meeting may reveal, I completely agree from a public relations perspective, that if Facebook does launch an upgrade of their email system, it will not have such a drastic effect on the business world. Email providers like Google have nothing to worry about because users will not be retiring their accounts anytime soon.

Although Facebook is one of the top social media channels of communication, I think it connects people on more of a personal note. Even though we have email messaging capabilities, I do not see professionals turning to @facebook.com as a medium of conducting business.

The article reinforces that many corporations already have banned Facebook in professional settings because it is seen as a waste of time or potential risk. Employers will not be as impressed with your resumes sent via facebook verse a Google address.

The ultimate motive of becoming the top contact list is evident, but although the opportunity and resources are there for a family/friend contact basis-I agree that in a professional matter it won’t be the top choice.

http://mashable.com/2010/11/12/facebook-fb-email/

http://mashable.com/2010/11/11/facebook-announces-special-event-is-it-about-to-overhaul-messages/

A Deeper Look Into Twitter

Everyday millions of people are using social media to create, discover, and share their ideas across multiple networks. Living in a digital age PR professionals are turning to Twitter as an effective tool in facilitating communication and essentially creating and maintaining business-customer relations.

Twitter is not only accessible and efficient for new users; it also keeps businesses up-to-date and aware. Twitter may be the most useful tool in the social media world right now and as tomorrow’s PR professionals I urge anyone and everyone to join if they’re not tweeting already.

New users of Twitter are benefiting everywhere from its user-friendly network because of the accessibility and efficiency it offers any professional. Social media sites like Facebook require friend requests that sometimes take time for approval or in worst case completely are declined. Well Twitter connects people right now. With the opportunity of following others and vice versa publicly, immediate connections can be made between businesses and customers.

 When searching for networks of interest Twitter is built on a keyword search engine. Individuals can just type in a word and it will pull up multiple feeds with that word and essentially allowing the professional to target specific markets of interest

Now twitter isn’t all about useful immediacy. The nature of this network lets you build relationships with customers, partners and other important people that are useful to a PR professional. Twitter gives customers the opportunity to have direct communication with a professional. Shrinking the emotional gap between a business and its customers is something all companies strive to achieve.

 With the opportunity to communicate casually with customers and take consideration to their questions, experiences, and needs can only increase your chances of business prosperity. PR professionals are finding that with such engagement and interaction, the feedback can only be of use for future planning. It’s about listening, evaluating and then accommodating the needs of your customer based on decoding commentary.

Now with Twitter providing all the tools needed to maintain these relationships it is important as a professional to stay aware and up-to-date of any matters that may affect a business or industry. Twitter gives you as a professional the resources to stay ahead and informed about competition. Having the ability to use these search engines and see what people are saying about other companies or current trends can be a valuable tool to any professional.

With Twitter’s messages that are quick to write, easy to read, controlled by the generator and exchangeable anywhere you have a powerful tool when creating and maintaining relationships. Not only does Twitter have the capacity to build your client base it can keep a PR professional up-to- date and aware in an ever-changing business world. Joining Twitter is critical in the success of any PR professional, so get out there and start tweeting.

To Blog or Not to Blog

The use of social media in a PR professional’s world is becoming more of a necessity than just a useful tool. There are no longer limits to communication within the business world. Social sites such as YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter are helping professionals create and maintain positive relationships with their publics. The digital age has allowed for much advancement in interacting with a company and its customers.

Any PR professional must first define the focus of the company. By having a centralized goal, a professional may be able to determine the best use of social media for the specific situation. Using tools such as blogging may allow for questions and answers among a business and their clients.

Blogging allows a professional to tap into certain niche markets and help expand through conversation. By answering questions and evaluating other blogs and comments, allow for feedback in a company. This in turn helps spread a message among these markets and their users. Not only are others witnessing the initiative a company is making but they are redefining the company to fit these customers needs.

With the use of company blogs are PR professionals becoming more expendable? Businesses have been given the tools to create and maintain these relationships on their own. Media skills and training are becoming more evident with upper-level management today. Public relations might not have deceased but the professional may no longer be as coveted as he once was.

I believe that for the future it is important for PR professionals to be up to date on all that is social media. Through understanding the media we are better able to predict outcomes. Blogging for example, may be one of the most important means of interaction among companies and their clients right now. By understanding all aspects of social media and the potential that each market has will be the difference between the professionals and those who are just media savvy.