Cautionary Tale

I enjoy the professional advantages of social media sites and tactics such as FaceBook, LinkedIn, and, of course, Twitter as much as the next person, but I also enjoy playing devil’s advocate.

Hilarious example of the pitfalls and dangers of combining personal and professional uses of social media:

Big Brother

Something struck me as I was reading through my latest copy of The Public Relations Strategist (Spring 2009). “In 2009, Big Brother is now a vast, collective and diverse group of individuals, organizations and industries watching the Internet and sometimes acting upon the information that they obtain.” This quote is in an article titled “Social Networking Media Present New Ethical Challenges for Public Relations” by Tim O’Brien, APR.

It truly is Big Brotherish out there. You hear seasoned celebrities make comments all the time, grateful that they didn’t come of age as a celebrity in this, the digital media age, because, today, they could not have gotten away with the things that they did then.  A listtle closer to home, where home is our marketing and public relations world, no longer is an irate or unhappy customer relegated to their simple letter to customer service and a few phonecalls to same. Today, these same disappointed customers take to the blogs and forums, loudly proclaiming to all who listen their woes with you and your company.

Today, everyone is watching, listening, and talking. You need to be aware, and you need to likewise - and you may need to respond. Or at least have a plan in place on how to react. But, more on that later.

Digg It

Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m new to social media marketing (then again, aren’t we all? Seriously, did many people use it last year, or the year before?). Although I’ve been on LinkedIn for a while (thanks, Dean Bakeris!), within the past few months I’ve started blogging (both personally and professionally), have two Twitter accounts (@LauraLaChapelle for me and LaChapelle Communications, and @PRSA_MD for PRSA-MD), and joined FaceBook.

Well, you can only write to the big black void so much before it occurs to you that you  need to start promoting things, or else you’re just writing to yourself. So, I recently experimented with Digg to promote what I’m writing as the Baltimore Triathlon Examiner. Overnight, I had 171 page views (as opposed to just one previously).

Gosh darn, this marketing stuff really works (she says snarkily).

Rethink Your Approach to Employee Communications

How do you communicate to your employees? Do you post signs on the bathroom doors? Send out a mass e-mail? Hang up posters in the break rooms? Or, are you more advanced, with an employee newsletter, executive blog, and/or intranet site? Honestly, I’ve been at companies that have used all these approaches, from the bathroom signs to the dynamic intranet site.

Depending on the make up of your company, any and all of these methods can be effective. However, you should also consider utilizing social media. Develop a group for your company on LinkedIn and FaceBook, set up a Twitter feed, and even utilize YouTube and Wikis.

Hey, your employees are on these sites - rather than ignoring that fact, embrace it and use it to your advantage.

Social Media Boosts Event Marketing

Click Here for a short but interesting article on using social media to promote your event.

I’m using these tips in crafting and executing the promo plan for the PRSA-MD Chesapeake Conference and Best in Maryland Awards.

YouTwitFace - Thanks, Conan!

“YouTwitFace.” I love it! Conan certainly got it right. Everywhere you go, someone is talking about who they’re friends with on FaceBook, while someone else is twittering away on their BlackBerry, and someone else is recording something on their iPhone to then post to YouTube.

All great PR and Marketing tactics, to be sure, but too often companies are forgetting that’s exactly what they are - tactics. They’re not an answer in themselves, they’re not a strategy on their own. They’re pieces of the bigger puzzle, and each can’t stand on its own. Twitter by itself is not an effective strategy; for some companies, it may not even be a good tactic. I know - I may be the lone voice in the wind out here with that one, but it’s true. Each company must evaluate its strategy and the goals of their campaign to determine what tactics work best for them - old school strategy creation.

Some companies utilize a social media plan, while others incorporate social media tactics into their overarching plan. Again, depending on your goals, each system would work if done properly. However, I’m seeing a troubling triend with clients (and even some colleagues) where the opinion is that Twitter/FaceBook/YouTube, you name it, is the be all and end all for them. They come to me with that answer in mind, without first considering what their goals are and if, in fact, Twitter would really be the best way to achieve them.

So, a word of caution - social media tools are amazing, and I certainly put them into use when needed, but proceed with proper planning. YouTwitFace, to be sure!