Member Article

Social media changes PR forever

Traditionally, the role of public relations in business has, rightly or wrongly, been seen as mostly providing one, very specific service; media relations. A few years ago though, that changed irrevocably with the advent of not just social media, but social media platforms with cross-generational, multi-demographic appeal. Now, social media work is not something that companies and clients might be open to, it’s something that they expect and demand.

Back in the heyday of Myspace, the focus on individual profiles and ranking teenage friendships were so inherently immature that businesses and brands had no way of creating a company presence. Facebook pages, increased user numbers and the chance of a coherent corporate identity online have since changed all of that though, and it’s fair to say that PR agencies and in-house managers have well and truly embraced social media and the opportunities it brings by now. In fact, from our agency point of view, more clients are coming to us than ever before to talk about what they should be doing online and how best to manage their digital presence.

The fact that we’re having these conversations so regularly is a true testament to just how much the landscape of PR and digital comms has changed. Digital work, in particular, may have started out as a very separate entity, but it is now rightly seen as an essential service that should be intrinsically linked with more traditional PR tactics to form coherent campaigns, strategies and brand identities.

Social media is not a ‘one size fits all’ proposition though, and it is increasingly the responsibility of agencies such as ours to advise and instruct on which social media platforms are best suited to a client’s needs. Not every company will benefit from having the latest platform, especially if nobody else has a good handle on how best to use it. Empty social media accounts reflect badly on all concerned, and you should only really jump on a bandwagon if you’ve got an idea of how to drive it.

It should also go without saying that social media accounts are now the most viewed public faces of any company, which is why it should be of paramount importance that the person running the account knows what they’re doing. Social media can do great things for a company, especially if the company is already doing great things and needs a way to tell the world, with viral videos and varying tones of voice giving brands new forms of coverage and identity that nobody could have possibly dreamt of before a few years ago. As with any B2C platform though, those using social media on behalf of an organisation must tread carefully.

The unfortunate truth is that mistakes made on social media can be exceptionally costly, and frequently generate a lot more comment than regular activity ever will. These sorts of mistakes can happen to even the biggest global brands, never mind regional or national businesses.

Social media, then, is being taken increasingly seriously and that’s certainly no bad thing. It is capable of amazing things, not least providing instantaneous, direct relationships with customers. It is important to remember though that it remains at its strongest when used as part of a multi-level strategy that brings together traditional and digital PR, and that finding the right channels for you and your message is more important than being on every website and app just for the sake of it. Quality, not quantity.

By Daniel O’Mahoney, managing director, Bradley O’Mahoney Public Relation

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Bradley O’Mahoney Public Relations .