Tag Archives: public relations

Sociology and Social Media pt 1

Social media is a growing practice which is likely to evolve past the tweets and status’ of today. PR and other branding professionals have taken notice and have, over the past few years, effectively implemented sm campaigns and day-to-day corresponding into their client’s publicity repertoire.

PR professionals are so apt to talk about social media in terms of trends and what community members are talking about that they tend to forget that consumer-based social media is more or less a sociological function.

Take, for instance, a recent study by Empathica noting that most social media users are driven towards brands that implement coupons or promotions through their various sm outlets.

While most of the aspects of social media related branding and consumerism are essentially common sense, i.e. maintaining a positive, two way communication system with consumers, I think it’s best to start putting the social into social media and looking at it in terms of basic sociological practice.

Research can tell you lots of interesting factoids like how roughly 80% of parents with kids on social media sites also have their own accounts – well that’s a given seeing as how parents want to monitor their children in all facets of life… Or how most people are inclined to interact with brands who provide special promotions through their sm accounts I myself will stop into Starbucks when they offer me a free treat to complement my $7.00 coffee.

More on this to come…

PR and The Social Media Bandwagon

PT Barnum, the man who PR 101 class taught me was the “inventor” of Public Relations, is most likely doing spins in his grave over the incredible speed at which technological innovation is zooming. So fast that there are infinite ways that PR professionals can now access their desired audiences with the snap of a finger.

Modern day PR practice has jumped on the technological bandwagon and has fused its practice with social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Digg. This, of course, being the most sensical choice seeing as the majority of the global population seeks its information not from traditional media, the almost seemingly dying breed of inksplattered pages, but from LED transmitters the size of a palm or small text book.

A major issue, though, as a former (eek) undergraduate student of PR, is that universities are almost tentative at applying social media into it’s practicum. There may be some journalism classes out there providing lectures on online media, but what is to become of the student majoring in PR whose education is stuck in a traditionalist mindframe?

That isn’t to say that a traditional means of disseminating ever-so pertinent information on one’s clients is dying form of communication. Most print media will likely take the transition to an online-only format in the future, but the same principles of pitching and writing will remain ever-present. The innovative practitioner knows, though, that their audiences (at least from ages 12-40) are tuned in to social media sites so it’s basically easier for them to send a message to all of their followers with a link to a new article, contest, or what have you, than to go through a traditional outlet with breaking news.

At this rate, universities with programs in PR should begin integrating curriculum which has room for the new trends in information disbursement. My education, for instance, consisted of fine-tuning practical skills like (among the other 120+ credits I acquired) verbal and written communication, research, and crisis management. It wasn’t until I stepped into my 5 internships that discussions of such mystical things as SEO, Hootsuite, audience calculations, etc etc, came in to play…

How do you think your education prepared you for growing trends??

Operation: Get Real

Yes, I’ve finally decided to name my job search – Operation: Get Real seemed like the most appropriate moniker for my life these days. This morning I woke up with a rejuvenation and desire to stop being a bum because I will not find a job from the confines of my comfy bed!

As a result, I now find myself at my local library in a cubicle searching for social media, blogging, editing, promotions, and PR gigs within a 20-or-so mile radius to my home. There are a lot of positions of this nature in my general area so I decided to make a brief list of requirements (for lack of a better word) that I would like to see in my future job… Some attributes include job security, proximity to home, opportunity for growth, work with other people, team environment, and so forth.

Here’s to seeing if my list of expectations helps me as I go forward in my job search.