Karen’s PR & Social Media Blog

I had the chance to visit Iowa (first time ever in the state!) a few days ago to present at the 9th Iowa Homeland Security Conference.  The topic I was going to be presenting on was related to social media and crisis communications – a topic that I have been researching and consulting in for the last couple of years.

This was a very cool conference – I had a chance to chat with some emergency responders and professionals working with the DHS in Iowa about some of the trends they are seeing with social media and what are their challenges and opportunities they are seeing with this emerging platform.

My Conference ID that had a bar code to be scanned as well

I went over three research studies I had the opportunity to work on related to crisis communications and social media – ranging from interviews (mobile technologies and social media) to intention to comply with social media message strategies, to constructing a qualitative/quantitative value model for social media in a crisis.

In addition, I had to also update and add some additional information related to what happened during Hurricane Sandy this past week and what were some of the emerging trends we saw from a social media perspective.  The integration of social media among agencies, the vast upload and sharing power of Instagram, and the presence of misinformation and rumors that made FEMA establish a rumor control section for social media. Another thing I did too was make sure to add some additional resources for people to look at for future study and trends related to social media and crisis communications.

Here is my presentation if you are interested in viewing it via Slideshare.

In summary, it was a wonderful experience and conference to be part of.  I got some great comments about my presentation afterwords, which was great.  Several responders and other conference attendees said that it was the first social media presentation that they went to that “made sense” and combined social media strategy specifically with crisis communications. Yay!

Hope you all are having a great day.

Best Wishes,

Karen

One of the main areas we are seeing a lot of discussion in for public relations professionals is not only in the area of social media marketing strategy, but in the area of measurement and evaluation.  In particular, focusing on what metrics to look at for social media platforms.

We will continue to look at Facebook for general conversations and trends, but we will also look beyond and see the seamless integration of other associated platforms like Pinterest and Instagram – but the focus is going to be beyond social media platforms. Instead, the focus for social media practices and research will evolve to focus on experiences – the stories, activities, and conversations emerging from society, communities, businesses, and individuals that share common interests with each other.

To understand these future trends, we also need to discuss how to evaluate the metrics associated with each of these.  Here are some other metrics we should discuss further and determine 1) what is the overall value of this metric for PR and social media campaigns ; 2) how do quantify these results to measure across platforms and industries and 3) what are the best practices for PR professionals to address these advanced social media metrics?

• Value of Images:Pinterest and Instagram are definitely setting the trend for emerging social media platforms as well as raising the issue of how photos and videos are the new currency for social media purposes.  Understanding the types of images and photos has to be considered along with the actions captured, user who has captured this image, comments emerging from images, range of exposure, visual voice + comments associated with the image, etc.  Will location be a key factor in this equation as well? However, some of the traditional means of monitoring and listening to social media may not apply for images, so we have to look beyond these metrics and determine what are going to be the specific ones we focus on for visual social media platforms.Optimization, reach, and shareability are just a few things to consider as well in analyzing these various platforms.
• Value of Stories:  We have seen much discussion related to the concept of storytelling for brands and individuals via social media. While it is important to note that stories are all unique and have to represent the brand on a personal level – there are some associated metrics we can try to quantify that is related to storytelling.  Measuring authenticity, location, engagement in response to the shared comments, sentiment in the comments, timing, context of the story, and voice are just a few we may want to take into consideration and discuss further.
• Value of Emotions:  People are more likely to share their perspectives and voice which images and visuals they like the most – there are some metrics that are similar to traditional social media platforms like FB with likes and follows on both Pinterest and Instagram, but how do we really capture the intensity of these emotions with individuals – do they just like this picture or do they absolutely love it?  Is there a formula to determine if someone likes and comments on a photo – that means they like it more than just sharing it with others?
• Value of Shareability:  We have looked at the evolution of social media to translate to just separate platforms and traditional media to be more focused on converged media – how paid, earned, and shared media are all connected. So, how do we value how certain items are shared across platforms?  With these visual sites like Pinterest and Instagram, separate services are doing this already, including Pinalytics.  My guess is that sites like Bottlenose, Hootsuite, and Tweetdeck along with other paid services like Radian6, Cision, and others will follow this trend as well.  We need to discuss how we would be able to quantify this for clients and in our research as well in social media.
• Value of Influence:  We have seen many discussions related to the topic of influence and whether or not Klout, Kred, or PeerIndex are really capturing what influence is all about? We have to consider various components like audience, communication skills, personality, and other attributes that constitute and contribute to the overall conceptualization of influence in social media. Is influence something that happens on one platforms, or translates across all social media platforms and even offline?  These discussions and associated metrics need to be explored further.

In summary, there are many opportunities to have advanced social media metrics incorporated into campaigns and in research.  However, further discussion needs to occur in order to determine the proper value as well as specific items necessary in order to quantify some of these variables.  With that being said, we should also explore the potential for exploratory research to determine these items first with qualitative research – so mixed method approaches would be good to address these points.

Hope you all are having a great day.

Best Wishes,

Karen

Social media education continues to evolve and become an essential class for PR, Strategic Communications, and Integrated Marketing Communications students need to have once they enter the workplace. More brands and agencies are expecting not only to know the latest tools, but how to use them strategically and effectively.

Mark Schaefer shared a post via Twitter yesterday that caught my attention since it was proposing seven ideas to advance social media education. I think Mark has proposed several key areas that definitely need to be included and discussed in the area of social media education and incorporated into the curriculum.  This is perfect timing since I just finalized my syllabus for my class at the University of Louisville for this upcoming Spring.

While I think there are some great points and topics that need to be included in social media education as Mark has highlighted, there are a few other topics I would add to the list as well:

• Transmedia Storytelling: The focus of social media platforms and tools is the fact people are going online to share their experiences, perspectives, and stories across multiple platforms.  This is the heart of what social media is all about – and this is a topic that needs to be discussed at the very beginning of class so students will have this foundation when discussing the other areas associated with social media and be able to connect the dots with content, strategy, and platforms seamlessly.
• Rise an Prominence of Converged Media:  We forget that social media is not the only medium to follow and be aware of when we are looking at digital practices.  We have to be aware of how online conversations can translate into placements and mentions/stories in traditional media, and how relationships are formed based on these conversations with journalists and others in traditional media.  What about the rise of owned media and how brands are engaged more in content marketing practices?  This needs to be discussed thoroughly with students so they are informed about the current media landscape and the strategies they need to be aware of when practicing in this area.
• Crisis Communications:  Social media crisis communications is a huge area that everyone seems to be talking about right now.  There are many cases to look at from this perspective, so this topic definitely needs to be highlighted and discussed in the classroom. This topic is going to be a weeklong topic for my social media class. Share stories, best practices, and case studies associated with social media crises.  I will have the chance to bring in two leading experts in the area via Skype/Google+ next semester in crisis communications (Melissa Agnes and Jonathan Bernstein) for my class. Crisis exercises and assignments also need to be incorporated as well.
• Mobile Communications, Marketing, and Strategies:  When I was doing my research in social media classes for my syllabus, I was surprised when I found out that there were few professors that really went into mobile in their social media classes.  This is where the future is – and this was one reason why I wanted to make sure my class at the University of Louisville was titled “Social Media and Mobile Technologies.” Not only should students know about mobile, but the various specializations associated with it (ex. mcommerce, augmented reality, gamification, applications, etc).  Several classes and assignments should be dedicated focusing on the integration of social media with mobile technologies.
• Social media and mobile analytics:  Another key area that needs to be shared and discussed with students.  Highlighting what are the main tools, metrics, and software programs out there that are available and being used by agencies and companies is key. In addition, discussion on the rise of social media dashboards and command centers should also be discussed and analyzed in class.  Research will definitely be a component – along with writing, strategy, and creativity – I will highlight in my social media class.

In summary, as social media tools and platforms evolve, so does the social media curriculum. We have to make sure we are offering the latest updates and practices for our students so they are prepared for the workplace and successful in the field.  As professors, we have to be lifelong learners and be prepared to alway explore and look for the latest trends to bring into the classroom.

Hope you all are having a great day!

Best Wishes,

Karen

One of the great things I really like about being in Louisville is the fact that it is considered to be a great social media community.  Many professional associations and groups are located in the city and are dedicated to research, consulting,and practices involving new media.  One of the great annual events that occurs in the city is the Emerging Media Summit.

I had a chance to go to the event last year and took away many good practices and tips to bring into my research and in the classroom as well. Some of the highlights of the event came across in some of the presentations including:

• Shannon Paul: There is a love/hate relationship for social media among brands.  We need to focus more on transforming social media marketing into a social media business strategy.  Governance (policies, appropriate communication across levels in management), education, and tools and talent are key for success in social media.
• Allison Groves:  The focus and transition of SEO, PR, and Social is here. SEO + Social + PR equals the new marketing reality.  The focus on content creation within storytelling and how it translates to brand storytelling and relationship building (PR) and how listening, managing, and building relationships (social) is the focus for PR professionals today. The individual users discovers your content and story and has the ability to share this with their communities, and the brand finds the user to build a positiveand long-term relationship (ongoing cycle across brands and users). Tell your story and be authentic, but make sure it is relevant and meaningful for audiences.
• Nichole Kelly: The focus of this presentation was around the issue of ROI and measurement when it comes to social media.  Lead generation, customer retention and brand awareness are good metrics for social media. If you are able to translate and align social media goals with the sales funnel, then you are getting to your customers at an earlier process. The issue of influencers came up in the presentation and its role/power over the metrics associated with social media marketing and business transactions. Engagement focuses on exposure and action on the behalf of the user and the brand. Translate some of the business metrics into social media community while adapting other key components associated with social media into the ROI mix. Here is the link to Nichole’s great presentation via Prezi.
• Ben Loetz (Verizon):  Highlighted the various new tools offered from Verizon, even a robot (yes, I said robot) or a virtual press conference device in case you are having a press conference and your CEO can’t make it physically, he can be there virtually through the robot.  Interesting and exciting developments in technology for businesses and healthcare.
• Cody Vest (Vest Advertising):  Discussion on how to return on awesome and how to get impractical, and how social media does fit into this category somewhat in PR and marketing.  Augmented reality, holograms, and other new emerging technology platforms we were thinking were the future are here today in advertising and PR campaigns as well as internal communications. Focusing on awesomeness will be better than focusing on ROI because it will be a “home run” waiting to be hit.  You have to take initiative and listen to your gut instincts when it comes to emerging media and understand the personal connection for brands and other businesses.

Overall, this a great event not only for practitioners in the area, but also professors and students interested in engaging in social media as well as in research purposes. If you would like to see what were some of the other updates coming from the event, you may want to check out the hashtag #iabclda.

Hope you all are having a great day.

Best Wishes,

Karen

I had a chance to listen to Mark  yesterday virtually through a guest speaker presentation sponsored by the IMC program at West Virginia University on the issue of influence and his new book titled “Return to Influence.”  Great presentation and information – definitely was taking notes as I was listening to the presentation.  I first heard Mark speak at the first Social Slam event held in Knoxville, TN (a great event to go to and learn from experts about latest trends and issues in social media) just before I graduated with my PhD from the University of Tennessee.  Mark is definitely a great speaker with a very resourceful blog (definitely one I share with my students and on the reading list for my Social Media class at the University of Louisville for Spring 2013) and very charismatic about discussing social media and how it is integrated strategically into marketing and public relations practices.

Mark Schaefer's latest book "Return on Influence" - available on Amazon!

 As Mark mentioned during his presentation, influence is definitely a very hot topic both marketing and public relations circles.  He discussed how there were certain individuals who have high Klout scores and are begin reached out to by major brands (ex. Audi, Disney, etc) to experience using their products and services.  I also found out that if you had a Klout score about 50, you were in the 95% of influencers.  So, I found out that my score is actually 53, and my Klout style is that of a specialist (where I focus on just a few areas to discuss across social media platforms). Fabulous!  Mark also shared his insights about the purpose and power that comes with blogging, which is great to hear since this is one of the points I communicate with all of my students in PR and in Strategic Communications.  A great point Mark made was that content was what gives power to the user and builds their influence in social media – and blogging is a great tool to get opinions, thoughts, and perspectives out in the digital sphere for others to react to.

One of the things that I think Mark definitely touched on is the growing need to quantify what it means to be influential.  What do each of these scores truly mean, and how can we effectively measure influence to fully understand what it means?  This got me thinking – and I did ask Mark about the question if influence is universal.  Sure, there are people that have a strong presence across all social media platforms (one of the characteristics that I looked at in my SMI study a few years ago), but there are others that are influential on one particular social media platform.  In addition, influence is different across cultures.  What is influential here in the States is going to be different from South Africa to China to even Brazil.  Not only do we need to explore possibilities of how to measure influence more effectively, but we have to also look at these other variables and how they influence a person’s perception of influence.

Another point I would have liked to have asked Mark is the issue of  mentoring.  There are many influencers who have a strong following from thousands to even millions on Twitter and other social media platforms.  But, how do you effectively mentor and help others for the long term with social media?  When I think of influence, I think another component to look at is paying forward and help building the next generation of influencers and professionals in the field.  What are some best practices for using influence for mentoring?

These are just a few questions I had – I hope to continue this discussion with other professionals in the field.  Influence is a topic that will continue to be discussed in both professional and academic circles. I really do appreciate Mark taking the time to share his insights with us on this very important topic and I will make sure to pick up his new book /download the ebook as soon as possible.

Hope you all are having a great day!

Best Wishes,

Karen