Social Media for PR Pros Working with Reporters

A friend and local public relations professional sent me a Facebook message asking my opinion on a couple of questions she was considering for a newsletter article she was writing about social media, public relations and working with reporters.

She asked:

1. How have relationships changed between reporters and public relations professionals over the last decade?

2. What tips would you offer to a public relations professional to interact with reporters and build a trusted relationship?

Here's my response:

In this age of social media, public relations professionals have more authority – and responsibility – than ever before. This includes their relationships with news reporters and other media professionals, who they now outnumber.

With smaller newsrooms and tighter deadlines, reporters are even more reliant on public relations professionals to provide quick and accurate details about breaking news events or background information for longer-term stories. Reporters are working at breakneck speed these days to post stories online, so making immediate contact with knowledgeable, responsive PR pros is essential. Where once there existed a more clearly separate reporter-source relationship, today it’s all about collaboration.

Just as journalists are feeling more pressed to deliver, public relations professionals are under increasing pressure to stay “ahead of the story,” whether responding to an incident involving their company or setting the news agenda. And with extensive social media networks and information distribution channels of their own, they no longer have to rely solely on the news media to “get the word out.”

Meanwhile, customers as well as news and information consumers no longer have to depend on the media to find out what’s going on. Here’s where the job of public relations professionals becomes most critical, and must be most transparent. Customers want the facts and they want them now. They are savvy enough to recognize spin. And with their own social media networks, they will punish businesses and public relations professionals who mess with them. Who can afford having a Facebook campaign launched against them?!

With this in mind, here are some tips for public relations professionals looking to build a stronger relationship with the media:

1. Take full advantage of all the social media tools out there – Facebook, Facebook fan pages, Twitter, blogs, YouTube, Google maps, Flickr, Web sites, podcasts, wikis … and don’t forget old standbys such as e-mail.
2. Make reporters part of your personal and professional networks: become Facebook friends, invite people to become Facebook “fans” and Twitter followers.
3. Dedicate time every day to updating and maintaining your social media presence, making your media contacts aware of important business and industry news and articles, along with bloggers, Web sites and other “insider” resources they can use to inform readers.
4. Don’t neglect old-fashioned face time and telephone calls. Take advantage of informal “meetups” and other opportunities to connect outside of typical business “transactions.”
5. Be ever proactive, anticipating news and be ready to take immediate action.

What’s changed over the past decade? Building and maintaining a strong relationship with media professionals remains as important as ever. What’s changed primarily are the tools available, and the speed at which you are expected to respond.

A really good resource is the book “Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust” by Chris Brogan and Julian Smith. In addition to Chris Brogan, I’ve listed several other good marketing/public relations blogs in the “New Media” and “Eye on Marketing” sections of this blog (look to the right).

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(Photo credit: "News Reporter" by Truthout.org, courtesy of Flickr/Creating Commons)

How Many Media References Can You Name?

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

This week I joined many of my LBCC colleagues in hosting the Youth Job Fair on campus. I talked about media and journalism. And I gave the high schoolers this challenge: How many media references can you name from the College Humor parody "Web Site Story"?

Well? How many can you name?

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Another Take on Time Management

In my continuing quest to aid all those who are trying to cram 36 hours of life into a 24-hour day, I encourage you to read a new post by Amber Nasland on her social media blog called Altitude. Her focus: "Social Media Time Management: Nine Guiding Principles."

When it comes to managing your time, she notes at the outset, "It’s a balancing act. And ultimately, you’re in the driver’s seat."

Her first gear is managing disruptions: "Pick three things that you have to get done today, and focus relentlessly on those. (Hint: they should always be tied into your bigger picture goals, or you’re wasting time)."

Control information overoad, she continues, and make use of those tools that can save you a lot of time, such as WordPress for blogging or Google Reader to streamline your reading.

If you're in a situation at work or some other circumstance in which you find yourself answering the same e-mail question over and over, Nasland suggests creating a "template" that you can use to cut and paste common responses. Or set up a link to answers for a set of frequently asked questions. I like that one.

And when you don't have the answer, she says "communicate expectations." If you can't get to something for a day or two, say so, or refer people to somebody else who may be able to help.

But my two favorites are the last on her list: 8. Establish routines; and 9. Unplug:

If you set aside specific hours in your day, turn off other distractions. (Yes, it’s okay to close your e-mail program). Put your phone on Do Not Disturb or let it go to voicemail. Even 30 minutes of focused time on a single task, on a regular basis can ramp up your productivity.

and

Get offline. Go outside. Take a bath. Play with your kid. Go to the movies. Or go to an in-person event or Tweetup. There is nothing that will derail your social media efforts more than never walking away from them.

We all need to break from time to time ...

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(Photo credit: "Time Flies..." by kamera.obskura, courtesy of Flickr.com/Creative Commons)

Facebook, Twitter Revolution? NOT!

In this interesting TED talk, journalist Evgeny Morozov goes against the grain, suggesting that social networks don't necessary promote freedom and democracy, but in fact are a tool used by dictators and repressive regimes to solidify their power.

Morozov points to the Twitter "revolution" in Iran, for example, and notes that social networks made it easier for the government to keep tabs on the opposition rather than empowering Iranians to overthrow the ruling party.

"The KGB used to torture to get this information," he says at one point, "now it's all online."

It's an interesting point of view that deserves some consideration amid all the hoopla over social networking and it's role in social change.

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p.s. If you read this blog, you already know how much a fan I am of TED - Technology, Education, Design. See why by checking out the new list of video topics at TED.com.

Am I an Annoying Facebooker?

I post useful, interesting information on Facebook and should keep doing what I'm doing, according to a CNN.com quiz on using the social networking site. Yea for me.

Brandon Griggs has some fun identifying "The 12 Most Annoying Types of Facebookers" in his CNN report, which includes a somewhat interesting video discussion of social networking and the aforementioned quiz.

Sadly, I think I have some "Town Crier" tendencies and occasionally become the "Self-Promoter." At least I'm not the "Sympathy-Baiter," and my friend count disqualifies me as a "Friend-Padder."

As Griggs notes:

Sure, Facebook can be a great tool for keeping up with folks who are important to you. Take the status update, the 160-character message that users post in response to the question, "What's on your mind?" An artful, witty or newsy status update is a pleasure -- a real-time, tiny window into a friend's life. But far more posts read like navel-gazing diary entries, or worse, spam.

Now that I have a name for the "Maddening Obscurist" and can effectively avoid the "Chronic Inviter," I vow to be better in not so harshly judging the "Bad Grammarian."

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p.s. Thanks, Lydia, for alerting me to this CNN item by way of Facebook, and providing fodder for a long-overdue blog update.

(Photo credit: "Facebook" by Scott Beale/Laughing Squid courtesy of Flickr.com)

Facebook Alert: When Social Networking Becomes Criminal

We're all well aware that employers use Facebook to screen job applicants and that divorce lawyers love what they can dig up on the social networking site. But what about more evil uses of this routine -- though powerful -- medium.

An opinion piece on NPR.org described how Iranian agents are using Facebook to track those who may disagree with the government, along with all their friends. It's pretty frightening.

As Evgeny Morozov notes:

"... It means that the Iranian authorities are paying very close attention to what's going on Facebook and Twitter (which, in my opinion, also explains why they decided not to take those web-sites down entirely - they are useful tools of intelligence gathering).

Second, it means, as far as authorities are concerned, our online and offline identities are closely tied and we have to be fully prepared to be quizzed about any online trace that we have left."

It's unsettling to think that forwarding messages or supporting others involved in causes may land somebody in the gulag -- or worse!

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(Photo credit: "tyranny" by rachaelvoorhees, courtesy of Flickr.com)

First Twitter, Now Flutter

Be the first on your block to get in on Flutter, the "nanoblogging" ap that's sure to sweep the nation.

... and then there's ...

Watch Real Life Twitter on CollegeHumor

... and Twitter unites strangers on a train ...

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Who Needs Google When You Can Twitter?

So what's the big deal about Twitter? Mashable contributor Soren Gordhamer has some answers in "How Twitter Is Dethroning the Old Guard."

Gordhamer notes how the "next great social media site" may soon replace some of our most-used online actions, including searching for information, e-mail and even MySpace. He writes:

To the extent that Twitter will begin to truly rule these areas is unknown, but I think it’s hard to argue that it is not already having an impact.... Twitter is clearly riding the waves of our time, and could have an even more significant impact on social networks, search, and communication than it does today.

Noting the power of the Twitterverse, Gordhamer poses the question: Why look something up on Google when it's faster to get the answer from your Twitter followers? "As information becomes more social, Twitter provides both a community and a much more effective means of finding emerging news and content than Google does," he notes.

As for e-mail, its faster to send a tweet; and MySpace contains too many graphics and other information for a generation increasingly using mobile devices to connect.

Each day more of my students are signing up for and finding new uses for Twitter. It's time to devise a fun classroom experiment.

BONUS COVERAGE: Don't miss this list of Twitter "don'ts" by Sean Ludwig.

MORE BONUS COVERAGE: "Twitter's Hot, Sure, But What Does It All Mean?" by Peter Ames Carlin in The Oregonian.

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The Twouble with Twitter

Today in Media & Society we explored social networking. Students agreed that Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace can be great tools for staying in touch with friends, planning activities, publicizing events and making business and professional contacts.

Of course, they have their downsides as well, especially the incredible "time suck" that "just keeping in touch" can become. As part of our discussion, we enjoyed this parody of Twitter users on Current-SuperNews.

We got off to a happy start with "The Twitter Song" and the older ones among us, myself included, took heart that we are the fastest-growing demographic on Facebook. Yea for us!

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Nerd World: Facebook Is for Old Fogies

I suspected months ago that I was too old for Facebook. Not anymore! Old fogies have taken over the social networking site! That's according to Lev Grossman in his "Technoculture" blog on Time.com.

(I'll give LBCC journalism student Rick Casillas credit for dubbing Time.com "Nerd World" on his evolving site -- Mediocre Gatsby's Wild Publishing Party. Check it out.)

Anyway, Grossman delivers 10 reasons why Facebook is for old fogies, including:

4. Facebook isn't just a social network; it's a business network. And unlike, say, college students, we actually have jobs. What's the point of networking with people who can't hire you? Not that we'd want to work with anyone your age anyway.

or

10. We're not cool, and we don't care. There was a time when it was cool to be on Facebook. That time has passed. Facebook now has 150 million members, and its fastest-growing demographic is 30 and up. At this point, it's way cooler not to be on Facebook. We've ruined it for good, just like we ruined Twilight and skateboarding.

Watch out those of you under 30, we've got Twitter in our sights...
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Exploring the Media's Twitter Obsession

Why are journalists falling all over themselves trying to figure out Twitter? Because the social network is growing at epic pace, from alerting the world to breaking news to providing sources and a media audience.

In a MediaShift story, journalist Alana Taylor, a student at New York University, reports on a recent panel discussion, "Journalists and Social Media: Sources, Skills, and the Writer." MediaBistro organized the event. She writes:

"Journalists are obsessed with Twitter. Obsessed. They use it, talk about it, analyze it, deconstruct it, reconstruct it, love it, hate it, capitalize on it, become experts on it, monetize it, argue about it, and become micro-famous on it. They are mesmerized with what it is and they are as giddy as Tom Cruise on Oprah just thinking about what it could be."

She goes on to share what panelists had to say about Twitter as a reporting tool and its place in the evolving media.

Attached to her story is this MediaBistro video featuring the panelists discussing social networking and the future of journalism.

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CNN, Facebook and the Techno-Inauguration

It was fascinating Tuesday to watch the day-long live video stream of the inauguration by CNN.com, accompanied by the continuous flow of Facebook reactions from around the world.

The Facebook world wished our new president well, along with sharing their feelings of pride for our nation. Mixed into the fast-flow of reactions were the inane along with the innocuous, even comments on Michelle's footwear when she and President Obama ditched their limo to stride among the masses.

How fitting for the President who mastered social networking in his quest for the White House to be the focus of the largest social networking event ever. As many stated Tuesday, praise to technology, which gave a truer sense of the spectacle of it all, especially for those of us thousands of miles away.

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A Musical Welcome Back to Winter Term

Just got a heads up on this Twitter video that seems a fun way to start off Winter term.



Thanks to OSU new media professor Pam Cytrynbaum for passing this along.

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Social Networking 101

So you've started your own blog, you're on Facebook and you're building your connections on LinkedIn. Now what?

If your goal is to "build your brand" or that of a group to which you belong, Mike Fruchter has provided an excellent checklist of all you can do to become a player in the world of social networking. In "35 Tips for Getting Started with Social Media" he provides a checklist full of great reminders, such as No. 31:

"Be omnipresent on all the networks. I should be able to find out about your latest happenings, and or statuses if I am browsing your Facebook profile, Linked profile, Twitter or FriendFeed stream."

And for those less adventurous than others, Mike offers this encouragement in tip No. 21:

"Don't knock it until you tried it at least once. Be open to trying new multimedia applications that enable self promotion, audience engagement, brand retention and participation. Experiment with podcasting, creating video, slide shows, or creating and posting any type of original user generated content."

I gotta go, I've overlooked some items on the list...

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"Am I too Old for Facebook?" Find out in this blog post from September.

(Photo credit: "Thoughtful" by adrenalin, courtesy of flickr.com)

Tips for the Social Networker in Every Journalist

These fine reminders on "social media" for journalists come courtesy of Alfred Hermida at Reportr.net:

1. Be human: Mass media was based on the notion of reaching millions of people with one message. As a result, that message often came across in an impersonal, corporate voice. Social media provides an opportunity to be more personal, informal and conversational.
2. Be honest: Be transparent and open about what you are doing. Social media is about genuine relationships and anyone trying to fake it is likely to be found out very quickly.
3. Be involved: Journalists should not approach social media by thinking, “how can I use this for a story”. Social media should be part of your job, not an add-on or something to be used for a story and then abandoned.

My advice to journalists is to be part of the social web, to live the social web.

Well put.

Hermida is leading a seminar today on social media best practices at a day-long event organized by CBC Vancouver. I'm looking forward to the follow-up. Meanwhile, check out the workshop blog.

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