Are You a PR 2.0 Champion?
There’s a lot of discussion focusing on the changes in the roles and responsibilities of the PR professional as a result of socialized media, direct to consumer communication and the ability for PR people to take on additional roles within their organizations. I believe the profession has advanced far beyond media relations and/or news release writing. Today, we do so much more!
Brian and I discussed the news roles and responsibilities in our book, “
- Social Media expert
- Market analyst/expert
- Web marketer
- Customer service representative
- Relationship marketer
- Viral marketer
- Conversationalist/listener
In order to truly be a PR 2.0 champion for your organization, it starts with your personal involvement in web communities. I believe you have to take off your marketing hat and become a trusted peer. Ask yourself the following questions about your personal social media engagement:
- Are you actively listening and engaging in social networks?
- Are you trying new technologies as they are introduced (setting up new profiles and testing various social networking communities)?
- Do you have RSS feeds, and use social media tools including widgets, wikis, podcasts and streaming video?
- Do you have a list of favorite bloggers and are you commenting on their blogs?
- Are you sharing interesting blog posts and other news/information with members or your social networking communities?
- Are you blogging?
- Are you asking questions so that you better understand social media and also answering questions to help your fellow peers?
- Are you sharing valuable information to help people to make decisions?
If you have answered yes to most of these questions then you are ready to help your organization to understand the importance of listening and engaging in social networks, and using effective social media tools to communicate. If you have answered yes, then you’re prepared to help your organization build relationships with new influencers and gain trust and brand loyalty from its customers.
With your personal understanding of the rules of different communities, you will be better equipped to inform your organization about the sociology and cultural anthropology of the web; the significance of studying the behavior of groups of people and learning about strong cultures in niche communities. And, if you are blogging and people are engaging with you, then you will better understand and advise your company on the best approach to engage with bloggers.
PR 2.0 starts with you. It’s critical for PR pros to be at the top of their social media games in order to properly educate their organizations. With engagement in the blogosphere comes knowledge and experience that will turn you into a PR champion and an even more valuable asset to your company. Are you a PR 2.0 champion?
March 22, 2009 @ 3:21 pm
Hi Deirdre,
I must say that I was able to answer yes to most of the questions you posed, although I also have to qualify that it’s such a challenge trying to build an understanding from scratch. I still feel like a fish swimming against the currents upstream.
I’ve a traditional PR background back where I came from, and yes, that includes a heavy emphasis on media relations, speech writing and event management. And I didn’t really start engaging with social networking until I came to the States for studies because it was my friends who urged me to join their Facebook group to keep in touch.
I remember I was so unaccustomed to FB and some months later, they were texting me and asking me what kind of a FB account is it when there is no ‘face.’ How much things and sentiments have changed today. Now I’m fully invested in FB, and also learning what it means to be a useful member of Twitter, on Flickr, LinkedIn, etc…
I believe in the changes and the potential of a Web 2.0 engaged community, and I’m discovering new and exciting (often baffling at the same time) things all the time. With the way the Web and social networking applications are growing, it seems that if we’ve decided to go down the PR track with a new mindset towards dialogue and community participation, then we’ll have to be prepared for an ongoing education and re-education as programs and applications are changing so rapidly.
But looking back, I’m glad I’ve dived in already. The PR industry is still awakening to the changed brought about by the Web and social networking, and the later we put our foot into the matter, the harder it may be.
March 22, 2009 @ 7:31 pm
Hey Daniel, it’s great you answered most of the questions yes! And, even though we have come this far with social media and engaging in communities, there’s always so much to learn. I agree with you completely, the longer you take to experience the dialogue and community participation, the harder it will be to join in the conversation, especially as technology continues to advance. The landscape is changing rapidly and PR professionals need to learn the new rules of PR and marketing or take the risk of being left behind. The changes are definitely new and exciting but also intimidating and challenging. Thankfully, we’re all in it together and we can learn from one another 🙂 Thanks for sharing your thoughts!