Social Media & Public Relations

1. Karen Freberg, M.A. University of Tennessee, Knoxville kfreberg@utk.edu Created for: National Center for Food Protection and Defense (Prime Award: DHS/2007-ST-061-000003) Social Media & Public Relations

2. What is social media? Social media combines “a wide range of online, word-of-mouth forums including blogs, company sponsored discussion boards and chat rooms, consumer-to-consumer e-mail, consumer product or service ratings websites and forums, Internet discussion boards and forums, microblogs” (Mangold & Faulds, 2009, p.358). • Social media integrates technology & social interaction with pictures, videos, words, and audio. • It also allows people to share different perspectives and sharing information / stories / experiences among online communities.

3. Solis, B. (August 5, 2008). Introducing the conversation prism. Retrieved from http://www.briansolis.com/2008/08/introducing-conversation-prism/.

4. Characteristics of Social Media • Open • Conversations & Dialogue • Relationship Development • Multiple voices • Getting the message to stakeholders • Social media press release • Video news release • Internet • Social networking communities / influencers • Live steaming

5. Opportunities in Social Media

6. Key terms to remember about social media • Engagement • Influencers • Internet Memes • Edelman Tweetlevel Site • Methodology in calculating Influence, Engagement, Trust, and Popularity on site.

7. Key term: Engagement • Engagement • Definition: the purpose of listening and interacting with your key stakeholders virtually – these conversations range from compliments to complaints to specific needs. • Examples of brands that have high levels of engagement: Starbucks, Dell, and Toyota • Why are these brands successful? (Engagement DB Report) • The understand that each social media channel (ex. Facebook, web sites, blogs, Twitter, etc.) provides people a different dimension of engagement. • Centralized coordination of social media throughout companies. • Senior management was part of the social media process (ex. CEO of Starbucks & MyStarbucks.com)

8. Key Term: Influence • Definition: The ability to shape and shift messages that grabs a person’s attention and inspires them to act upon this. • Breakdown of influencers • Traditional influencers (newsmakers, reporters, analysts, etc.) • New media influencers • These individuals create their own social networking communities and have their own followers (bypassing gatekeepers) • Bloggers are just the beginning – people are establishing themselves as prominent authorities of influence online. • Has expert content on their blog, web site , etc. – as well developing relationships w/ followers & peer-to-peer conversations. Basille, D. (November 5, 2009). Social Media influencers are not traditional influencers. Retrieved from http://www.briansolis.com/2009/11/social-media-influencers-are-not-traditional-influencers/.

9. Key term: Internet Meme • Definition: • A phrase used to describe a catchphrase or concept that spreads quickly from person to person via the Internet. • Types of Internet Memes • Self-promotion (usually created by a group / individual to gain personal recognition) • Rumors & Hoaxes (falsehoods spread virally) • Crisis Communications & Reputation Management • Examples of Crisis Communication Internet Memes • Domino’s & YouTube Crisis (#disgustingdominos) • Amazon Crisis (#amazonfails) • United Airlines & Guitar – Song by Musician Dave Carroll

10. Publish a blog Publish your own Web pages Upload video you created Upload audio/music you created Write articles or stories and post them Creators Post ratings/reviews of products/services Comment on someone else’s blog Contribute to online forums Contribute to/edit articles in a wiki Critics Use RSS feeds Add “tags” to Web pages or photos “Vote” for Web sites online Collectors Maintain profile on a social networking site Visit social networking sites Joiners Read blogs Watch video from other users Listen to podcasts Read online forums Read customer ratings/reviews Spectators None of the above Inactives Understanding your online stakeholders Bernoff, J. (August 25, 2009). Social technology growth marches on in 2009, led by social network sites. Retrieved from http://blogs.forrester.com/groundswell/2009/08/social-technology-growth-marches-on-in-2009-led-by-social-network-sites.html.

11. What is the purpose of social media? • Establishing online identity • Conducting Research – qualitative and quantitative • Launching event & creating awareness of an issue • Using media relations practices in reaching both traditional and non-traditional media • Engaging with customers in dialogue • Creating new online partnerships • Communications with External & Internal Audiences • Crisis Communications & Crisis Management • Reputation Management (Corporate and Individual)

12. Social Media PR Case: CDC & H1N1 Centers for Disease Control Social Media site. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/socialmedia/.

13. CDC & Social Media Facebook Video (YouTube) Twitter MySpace Widgets Centers for Disease Control Social Media site. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/socialmedia/.

14. CDC & Second Life Centers for Disease Control Virtual Worlds site. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/HealthMarketing/ehm/virtual.html.

15. Social media & Mobile Applications Siegler, M.G. (April 30, 2009). Want to avoid Swine Flu? There’s an app for that too. Retrieved from http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/30/want-to-avoid-swine-flu-theres-an-app-for-that-too/.

16. Trendsmap. Retrieved from http://trendsmap.com/.

17. Fort Hood Shootings • Overview of Crisis (Nov 2009) • Areas in Public Relations • Crisis Communications • Issues Management • Risk Communication • Social Media • Strategies Army implemented with social media • Facebook Main Page / “Prayers for Fort Hood” • Twitter Accounts

18. Social Media & News response to Fort Hood Tragedy Ostrow, A. (November 5, 2009). Fort Hood Shootings: News Orgs Put Twitter Lists to the Test. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2009/11/05/fort-hood-shootings/.

19. Social Media Measurement

20. What are the goals in social media measurement? • Reputation • Understanding perceptions and attributes associated with brand or person online / positive or negative tags and content online / analysis of conversations • Awareness • Brand loyalty / media placements and referrals to social media sites / share of conversation / sentiment in posts / interaction with content • Money • Speed of online transactions / Referrals to new customers / conversations from community • Engagement • Looking at specific activity and interactions among followers & brand • Posts / Threads / Incoming links / Tags / Referrals / Post frequency • Education • Learning about stakeholders / being part of the dialogue / creating new relationships / strategic issues management

21. How to measure social media • Free sites for online tracking and measurement • People Browsr • SM2 • Google Insights • Samepoint • Social Mention • Other sites • Radian6 • CustomScoop • Viral Heat • Nielson Buzzlogics • Cision Social Media

22. Example: How to track swine flu? • Check out what is being presented on the WHO Disease Outbreak News Center • Set up not only Google Alerts, but also other search engine alerts (ex. Backtype, Social Mention, etc.) • Track what people are posting via Twitter on Trendsmap (look for key words) or Heath Map & Flu.gov • Look at what are the common #hashtags being discussed related to swine flu (ex. #swineflu, #h1n1, #CDC, #swineflu vaccination, etc.)

23. Role of the new PR professional • Role of a PR Professional • Contribute valuable content and perspective through participation • We are not only liaisons for our businesses we work for or clients, but we become influencers ourselves • Social creates a new hybrid of PR professionals • Social Media / Data mining expert • Market analyst & researcher • Customer Service • Relationship marketers • Viral marketer • Conversationalist/listener

24. How PR can be successful with social media? • Integrate social media practices as part of the daily routine – like checking what is going on in the news or email. • Connecting with people online (establishing relationships). • Creating a dialogue through an online channel. • Start having a conversation with online stakeholders from the very beginning – incorporate into corporate culture. • Being consistent with content across all social media platforms as well in traditional media outlets. • Social media is not for the short term – it is a long-term process and investment. • Educate your organization & community about social media

25. Other PR tips to success • Talk like a person, not a computerized robot! • Be helpful and bring value to the conversation and relationship. • Remember each time that you are talking, posting, or conducting a business exchange online – you are contributing to the personality and reputation of the agency / corporation you are representing, as well as your own reputation.

26. Why is it important to understand social media from a PR perspective? • Being aware of the latest technologies to implement our communication messages and campaign strategies • Know how people are getting their information and stories and effectively communicate and share meaning with audiences • To build networks with fellow PR professionals - you never know who you are going to meet! • Understanding the key online influencers and opinion leaders • A way to understand our target audiences and how to best communicate with them • A tool to use to manage online reputation for our client as well as ourselves

27. Future of social media Baekel. T. (April 27, 2009). Where is everyone? Baekel Online Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.baekdal.com/articles/Management/market-of-information/.

28. Social Media Resources Mashable: http://www.mashable.com Brian Solis (PR 2.0): http://www.briansolis.com PR Squared: http://www.pr-squared.com/ Web Strategy (Jeremiah Owyang): http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/ Groundswell (Christine Li / Forrester Research): http://blogs.forrester.com/groundswell/ Social Media e-Books: http://mashable.com/2008/03/19/ebooks-social-media/ Online Reputation Management Top 10 Free Tools for Monitoring Your Brand’s Reputation: http://mashable.com/2008/12/24/free-brand-monitoring-tools/ How to build the ultimate social media resume: http://mashable.com/2009/01/13/social-media-resume/

29. Other useful research tools • Twitter • Twitter Search - Search keywords on Twitter which "self-refreshes". See what's happening — 'right now'. • TweetScan - search for words on Twitter • Twit(url)y - see what people are talking about on Twitter • TweetBeep - Track mentions of your brand on Twitter in real time. • Twitrratr - Rates mentions of your search term on Twitter as positive/neutral/negative • TwitScoop – Through an automated algorithm, twitscoop crawls hundreds of tweets every minute and extracts the words which are mentioned more often than usual and creates a tag cloud. • Twilert - Twitter application that lets you receive regular email updates of tweets containing your brand, product, service. • Twitnest – look at who is following who on Twitter • Twitratr – measures positive, negative, and neutral tweets for a particular Twitter user • Twitscoop – tool to see what issues are being discussed the most on Twitter • TweetStats – statistics on Twitter • Twitlocal – find people in local area on Twitter • Twazzup – Twitter search engine but with real feed • Monitoring discussions / comments • Backtype • Tweetmeme

30. References Allen, N. (November 5, 2009). Seven dead in shooting at Fort Hood military base in Texas. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/6510855/Seven-dead-in-shooting-at-Fort-Hood-military-base-in-Texas.html. Baekel. T. (April 27, 2009). Where is everyone? Baekel Online Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.baekdal.com/articles/Management/market-of-information/. Basille, D. (November 5, 2009). Social Media influencers are not traditional influencers. Retrieved from http://www.briansolis.com/2009/11/social-media-influencers-are-not-traditional-influencers/. Bernoff, J. (August 25, 2009). Social technology growth marches on in 2009, led by social network sites. Retrieved from http://blogs.forrester.com/groundswell/2009/08/social-technology-growth-marches-on-in-2009-led-by-social-network-sites.html. Centers for Disease Control Web site. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/about/stateofcdc/html/2008/Intro-Message.htm. Centers for Disease Control Social Media site. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/socialmedia/. Mangold, W.G., & Faulds, D.J. (2009). Social media: The new hybrid element of the promotion mix. Business Horizons, 52, 357-365. Ostrow, A. (November 5, 2009). Fort Hood Shootings: News Orgs Put Twitter Lists to the Test. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2009/11/05/fort-hood-shootings/. Siegler, M.G. (April 30, 2009). Want to avoid Swine Flu? There’s an app for that too. Retrieved from http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/30/want-to-avoid-swine-flu-theres-an-app-for-that-too/. Solis, B. (August 5, 2008). Introducing the conversation prism. Retrieved from http://www.briansolis.com/2008/08/introducing-conversation-prism/. Tools for Measurement. Retrieved from http://measurementcamp.wikidot.com/tools-for-measurement. Trendsmap. Retrieved from http://trendsmap.com/.