I spoke at the PRSA Leadership Rally over the weekend to discuss PR 2.0, social media communications and Putting the Public Back in Public Relations.  It was a great conference with approximately 150 incoming PRSA leaders in attendance.  I introduced to the group an exercise that I call “The Making of the Hybrid,” which focuses on individual, communications career development. The exercise gave examples of the differences between the traditional strategic PR communicator and the Hybrid professional.  As I moved through my presentation, I asked the audience to rate themselves, with respect to their own roles, responsibilities and professional career development (traditional vs. hybrid).

For the past couple of years my presentations have focused on the PR professional moving from handler/facilitator of communication (who often found success in great media coverage) to the PR 2.0 Champion, who climbed the rungs of the Forrester’s Technographics Ladder, from the “Inactive” all the way up to the “Creator.”

Here’s the graphic that I used in my presentation, which takes the PR person’s professional development from traditional strategic communicator to the hybrid professional.  The diagram not only illustrates the communicator who applies a blend of traditional and social media, but who also works more closely with other members of marketing and Web as well as other areas of the company (including sales, HR, IT, Legal, Customer Service, etc).  As a result, the Hybrid is the strategic communicator who guides all communication and has secured a seat at the boardroom/strategy table.

The Making of the Hybrid

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What do you think of these levels of development from traditional to hybrid?  Are there any other levels that you would add into the diagram?

Media is changing and we have to change with the times.  As we grow and embrace what social media has to offer for our brands and consumers, we learn that traditional PR and social media complement one another to build stronger relationships and communities.  I often tell my clients that you don’t have to abandon what’s working in the traditional realm to engage in social communities. But, rather, you can take a hybrid approach and capture the best of both worlds.

Here’s a good example of how traditional PR meets social media, with good results.  We recently had a client appear on the front page of The Wall Street Journal. The article had a tremendous impact on their business.  Since the coverage, they are receiving numerous telephone calls from prospective clients website volume has increased to a level that the site temporarily went down, resulting from unexpected capacity.

We know that PR goes a long way.  And, from one major media hit, the company experts are now scheduled to appear on Fox & Friends, Bloomberg TV, and many radio shows across the country from Florida to California.  This is one of the most exciting (and exhausting) times with so many media appearances – the price to pay to be a media darling.  And, the opportunities moving forward continue to get better (from additional, popular TV show interviews to radio programs, with well known celebrities).  I’m even thinking there’s a reality show as a result of this newfound notoriety.

Of course, our focus is to continue with the great coverage and to leverage the PR by blending/sharing traditional coverage through social media communications.  Here are a few social media musts for this particular client:

• Radio interviews and TV appearances are shared with friends and followers in their social networking communities such as Twitter and Facebook.  Fans can tune in during or after an appearance and then pass the information along to their friends.
• All audio/video from shows are a part of a Spring 2010 Media Tour in the company’s interactive newsroom.  We make media easily available so stakeholders of the company can share informational video programming with members of their own communities.
• The client is creating video blogs from the green room at each TV station to capture the excitement as they prepare for an interview and to show firsthand what’s going on behind the scenes, up close and personal.
• We set up a YouTube channel for all of the clients videos; with each video embedded in the client’s site (we title and tag videos, so the are search engine optimized)
• YouTube videos are also shared in the client’s e-newsletter, which goes out to company stakeholders.
• The e-newsletter also discusses the company’s new blog community and the various topics of discussion in an effort to drive more stakeholders to engage in conversations with experts.
• All video news clips on YouTube are shared in the social media releases we develop for the company.
• The client follows the bloggers and the media on Twitter, as we know the media is in the Long Tail looking for great story ideas.

These are a few of the many ways that your traditional PR efforts complement social media.  The offline coverage is beginning to feed social conversations and drive traffic and links back to the website.  We’re beginning to see increased coverage on blogs and relationships are forming with different groups in social communities.  Are you using a blended approach so that your PR is maximized both offline and socially? What sort of strategies and tactics do you have in place to accomplish this type of hybrid approach?