Integrating Social Media with Public Relations into your Organization

Submitted by ebaranik on February 9, 2009 - 4:39pm
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Wikipedia defines Public Relations or PR as the practice of managing the flow of information between an organization and its public. Because public relations places exposure in credible third-party outlets, it offers a third-party legitimacy that advertising does not have. PR can be used to build rapport with employees, customers, investors, voters, or the general public.

In the general realm of Public Relations, integrated marketing has been given or should I say it has coexisted but has not always been implemented. With the impact the Social Media platform has on today's communications industry, public relations marketing professionals will be well served to fully acquaint and integrate themselves with social media trends and opportunities and make social media management an essential part of any PR endeavor.

In an informative article in Social Computing Magazine, Anne Carr helps us out by suggesting five ways to integrate Social Media with Public Relations.

1.Link to articles.  Almost every media outlet has online versions of articles and news segments. When an article runs about your business, let others know by posting a link on your social media networks.
2. Drive traffic to website. Do not forget to always include your website in every email, blog comment and forum post. For example, after answering a question or posting on a forum, include your URL
3. Be an industry expert. Rather than focus on selling, present yourself as an educator. If you are in the IT industry, answer general questions and prove yourself to be a credible resource.
4. Respond to feedback. The general public freely gives opinions all over the World Wide Web. A big aspect of managing social media is maintaining a pulse on what your customers and prospects are saying about you or the brand you represent.
5. Involve the audience. Some of the best viral marketing campaigns involve audience participation on Twitter, Facebook fan pages, YouTube and Myspace. One way to harness attention of your business through public relations is to host a contest. If you have a new product, invite your customers to think of a name for it.

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While taking into consideration social media integration, I don't think anyone has said it better than Brian Solis

The evolution of social media is forcing an incredible transformation in PR and corporate communications its most dramatic to date; even more significant than the introduction of radio, television and motion pictures. With the injection of social tools into the mix, people now have the ability to impact and influence the decisions of their peers and also other news makers. Social media is not a game played from the sidelines. Those who participate will succeed everyone else will either have to catch up or miss the game altogether.