Amplifying your Marketing Communications Plans with Social Media Releases

After interviewing two successful and knowledgeable social media marketers from the United Service Organizations, I have found that some businesses are relying less on press releases and more on social media releases. Why is that you may ask? Well, look where people get their news – social media.

Brian Solis has evaluated the new theories and ideas on writing a social media release (SMR) and brought up many interesting and crucial points that all public relations specialists should know and thoroughly understand before getting on the bandwagon.

First and most importantly, not everyone is fit for SMRs. Like Solis cleverly noted, PR practitioners still have the “used car salesmen” reputation and no one would like that to continue into social media releases. So for those involved in “selling rather than talking, spinning rather than explaining, blasting instead of focusing, and most importantly not understanding the venues publications, blogs, sites, etc. or who they reach before spamming them,” SMRS are not for you.
Social media and social media releases will not fix a company’s whole marketing plan, but should be used in conjunction with traditional releases, company blog posts and if you’re lucky, releases written by customers, posted online, that tell a story of their experience. Using Twitter, in this case would make the most sense.

In general, just like social media in general, a release should be able to get a conversation started. Whether it’s a picture or news story that evokes emotion, re-tweets, tags or Diggs, your overall goal should be to get people talking and get people to take action- if that’s what your goal is. To beat the misconception of a used car salesmen, social media releases should be honest, up front and told in a timely manner. Think transparency.

Social media releases, in my opinion, may soon take over the typical release. After all, it only makes sense to start sending releases, written in short brief sentences to the most influential writers and websites out. Whether we want to admit it or not, online news is where most go to get their information these days. So in this case, the influencers may not have a journalism degree but share the same power as those with the degree.

Public relations companies and employees should take this into consideration. In doing so, consider who you’re sending the message to! Solis brings up a good point to only send the information out to those who you follow online already and those who have some correlation with the information you are trying to convey. Personally, if I was a blogger and some random person tried sending me information that did not apply to what I write about or what I am affiliated with, I would make sure to disconnect them from any of my networks. And if that ends up being the case, the company really won’t get their message out.

I compare press release, both traditional and social to a cover letter. If you are applying for a job, you cater the message to the company you want to work for. Otherwise, you just look like a fool who is too lazy to switch a few words and names here and there. A good job applicant and a good press release writer will look at who they are sending the message to and tailor it to them. After all they are your business just like the company you are applying for could possibly be your source of income. So watch what you do. Perception is everything.

The Brains Behind One of the Best Nonprofits

Why the USO Uses Social Media:

Mark Phillips, Vice President for Communications

Em Hall, Web developer

What is the main purpose for using social media?

• To increase USO stakeholders because more people are affected than they think.
  


• One step closer to the USO mission of supporting every military personnel



• Bring the USO into everyone's daily activity instead of waiting for them to come to their website or offices.



• Gives the company the ability to listen, increase customer service and quickly respond and connect to stakeholders
  

What Types of social media do you use the most?

• Facebook and Twitter
  

Do you ever get overwhelmed by it all?

• No because the benefit to social media is that other people can act on behalf of the USO in answering questions people may have
  
• If someone asks where they can volunteer or donate items for example, someone else on Twitter can read that and answer back to them

Where do you find all of the information you tweet about?

• RSS Feeds, Google Alerts and other USO office tweets along with current events and news within the USO headquarters

As a communications/marketing department would you say you are transitioning over from traditional to social media or are you still maintaining a balance of both?

• Still using traditional media for donation requests and some press releases


• USO is mostly sending out social media releases in order to quickly and efficiently get messages out to a wide variety of people


• Social media releases can be tailored but typically will include a headline in 140 characters or less to be posted to Twitter and Facebook along side pictures or video that corresponds.

Social Media as a Potential Threat to Defense Department?

After talking to Mike Andrews, who has worked in the Department of Defense the past four years after 21 in active duty in the Navy, he has sparked my interest in wondering what’s best for the Defense Department. From what I have been hearing from businessmen and social-media experts, I would have thought that using social media is best for every company. It’s an easy way to disseminate information. But when talking about federal and defense agencies, the conversation of security comes into play. To protect the safety of those working for the DoD, would it be best for once if a business didn’t involve themselves in social media?

Those working under the Department need to know they are receiving information from the right people. It’s also important that American citizens are getting the right information from the right people. The first thing that comes to mind is imposters on Twitter, pretending they are celebrities. We don’t need that same thing happening with government agencies. Another issue that I could initially see with government workers using social media is the chance that they could divulge confidential information that may threaten the security of the nation.

Andrews said, “the DoD currently does not have a formal policy on the use of social media, but realities are going to force that point very soon.” According to “DoD social-media policy review nears completion,” from Government Computer News, the Department should come to a conclusion on balancing social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter by the end of October 2009.

Some departments, like the United States Marine Corps, ban social media on government computers. Without a purpose and waiver from the Marine Corps, civilians and Marines are not allowed to use social media on government time, said Ray Letteer, senior information assurance official for the Marine Corps (DoD and Marine Corps Speak Out on Social Media Ban). Letteer said the Corps has abided by the DoD policy since it was enacted in February of 2007. He said the Corps wants to “move in smartly, carefully and do it the right way the first time.”
Civilians and military personnel are, however allowed to use social media on their own personal computers, including the ones available to troops overseas, Letteer said. But will everyone know how use it?

Jeremy Mishkin, attorney and expert in e-commerce and web-based businesses, brought up a good point in the GCN article that the government first needs to determine what security problems it has with social media and then teach employees how to move it from “toy to tool.”
Government agencies, particularly the DoD, could capitalize on the ability to disseminate information rapidly when using social media while meetings its citizens where they already are.
It’s a tough topic and I don’t really know if there’s one right or wrong answer. If allowed, the social media outlets used by government officials will have to be heavily over sought. After all, we want to be safe and make sure our daily “updates” are not compromising national security. Hopefully, once it becomes the norm, people will understand the dos and don’ts of communicating and be sensitive to the needs of the “old guard,” and less oversight will be needed.

*A special thanks to Mike Andrews for inspiring and helping guide my post

Another Vote for Social Media in Expanding a Network and Consumer Base

After requesting to be a part of “A US Government Relations & Public Affairs Group,” on LinkedIn, I was led to Jeffrey Taylor, SVP for Fleishman-Hillard (Washington D.C) who explained why he uses social media.
Taylor said he didn’t originally believe in social media at first until he received a message from someone in Singapore asking a question about the company’s services. He directed him to a co-worker but told the co-worker to not spend too much time on this man. Afterwards, he found out that the man from Singapore just sold the company $ 250,000 worth of patent work. Afterwards, he began connecting with everyone he could. LinkedIn has provided the B2B company with more connections and more business partners than he could have imagined before. He has included recommendations from previous customers and an extensive profile of credentials.
His recommended to fill your profile with keywords that help people find you when searching and to expand your network to accurately reflect the people you know and may do business with in the future. He also suggested researching companies to see if you can make connections on LinkedIn.
As a new found fan of LinkedIn, I will definitely be able to take his advice and put it to good use. Though I won’t be doing business with anyone for a while, it will be an asset to understand the uses and benefits of social media. As an aspiring public affairs officer, it is difficult to build a large network. After doing research and connecting with people on LinkedIn, I’m already able to see how they can be of use.
It seems that a lot of people from older generations tend to follow what they know, and what they know is traditional media. Sometimes these people are too afraid to branch out and embrace the changing ways of communications. Taylor was actually able to see a direct relationship with social media and sales. But if he didn’t, would he be using LinkedIn as much as he does now? I’m happy he was able to use social media to expand his business and raise awareness of Fleishman-Hillard, in the same way I am marketing myself.

Those Who Tweet and Tweet Well

From a consumer’s standpoint, I still cannot figure out if businesses using Twitter to get their message across is a good thing or not. I understand marketers are able to get to their level and meet their particular audience where they already are, but will it just become another form of advertising that we begin to ignore? After reading a blog on “40 of the Best Twitter Brands and the People Behind Them,” by Jennifer Van Grove, I can see the effective and tactful way that companies can use Twitter. It can be used as another tool to strengthen the relationship between the company and its consumers, but I still remain skeptical.
Five main purposes a company would use Twitter would be to:
1. Brand the company in its truest form to show personality
2. Connect with brand-loyal customers and potential customers
3. Converse with consumers and potential business partners
4. Offer discounts to its audience to bring them into the business
5. To listen to the customers' experiences and perceptions of the business

But when does too much of this become a problem? Take for example the issue KFC had when they offered to give away free meals. Oprah then advertised this deal and people flocked in herds to the store. This would have been great if KFC was able to accommodate the large number of people who took the company up on the offer. A company could lose a substantial amount of credibility for not keeping the promises they post.
Other companies, like The Marriott and Jet Blue, are providing a friendly, more personal face to the name when using Twitter. Jet Blue respects the wants and needs of its customers. According to Van Grove's article, the purpose of Jet Blue tweeting is to do so as its customers see fit. The official tweeter, Morgan Johnston, says, "our role on Twitter is driven by the requests of our followers. Twitter is a great way to talk to many, but even better for listening." Jet Blue has it right, in order to remain respected and respectful, they must make themselves present even if someone is not planning a trip, but take a step back and let the consumer’s guide its business plans. Companies can learn of consumers' personal experiences without bothering them to fill out a survey, for example. Companies do not have to force themselves into a consumer's day-to-day life but rather remain present as a personal acquaintance. Plus, the weather and flight updates don't hurt either.
Marriott can also be seen as a company who knows how to tweet, even in a crisis situation. An average day tweet can include video updates of newly-renovated rooms, but when the Islamabad hotel was attacked, the senior director of public relations knew just how to handle the situation. Because he was able to quickly and efficiently reach a world-wide audience, John Wolf used Twitter to send updates. The more information they received, the more they tweeted. It was a way for them to talk to everyone concerned and also a way to carry on a two-way conversation between numerous people. Wolf praised social media after the situation occurred because people were able to reply and send direct messages sending their prayers and sympathy.
After listening to these stories and seeing how companies can accurately use the social media to accomplish their business goals, I remain hopeful.

Better late than never...

I finally learned how to use Twitter and set up a blog for myself. I am looking forward to spending more time linking all of my accounts on to each other so it is easy for people to see my blogs, tweets and Facebook page. I am making a goal to consistently update my blogs and Tweets so that people keep following me.

I would like to spend a lot of time polishing the blog so that I can put it on a business card or resume, and hopefully appeal to more employers. It's about time I jump on the bandwagon so that more people know about me and can learn what I'm all about. I really hope this will help in searching for a job come next year!

Excited to start sharing my thoughts on Integrated Marketing Communications and what matters most to me.