PR and Social Media

Social Media Studies

The relatively recent emergence of social media platforms has revolutionised the way in which information is communicated and opinion is documented in the world we live in. Everything is now far more instant, accessible and easier to use and people can now have their own websites and blogs to air their opinions to a diverse, global audience. 

For my personal portfolio I decided to create a generic blog that comments freely on what major stories are in the news from a public relations perspective, good or bad. I used blogspot, the world’s most widely used medium for blogging and after creating the site itself got writing on what I felt pertinent. The major news stories in the week I wrote my blog posts were mainly surrounding UK Politics and how the Government endured a stressful, horrific week mainly due to poor communication and responsive tactics.  The main point of this portfolio was to explore the tools available now as a result of social media and how to analyse just how effective and successful the methods can be in trying to broadcast to and reach a desired audience.

I already had previous experience blogging as I have my own sports site so this helped me untold amounts in setting up a public relations themed weblog. I used Google’s blogger service which is free, easy and allows you to link the blog with any other google accounts you may have as well as yahoo and hotmail usernames. This interactivity was useful in generating an audience as it allows you to network with contacts you may have already and branch out your ideas to people you may not usually be communicating with.

I found the main disadvantage of a blog however to be exposure. It was difficult to generate a following in such a short space of time but having said that for a company or well known public figure I can see the pros of using  a blog to express a point. The fact that a blog allows a personal account to be written in detail, something which Twitter’s character restrictions prevent, means that the author can trully express their thoughts in detail.  It is blogging that has been a major force behind the emergence of ‘citizen journalism’.  You can have reasonable control over the formatting of your site also, editing colour schemes, fonts and adding whatever images and video you see fit, adding up to a very personal means of communication.

In order to maximise my blog’s potential I linked it with a specialist Twitter account that I had created, @UKPRtoday. I found this relationship extremely useful in announcing new blog posts and really interacting with the stories I was in turn writing about. I started off by creating the Twitter account and then following those linked with my subject matter, such as Nick Robinson  (BBC’s Political Editor), the Labour Party’s official Twitter account etc. I found the sheer volume of information on Twitter the most useful aspect and it really allowed me to specialise and follow those who were specifically talking about the same subjects as me. Having not previously been a big advocator of Twitter I have to say I was thoroughly impressed with its user-friendly lay out and simplistically aesthetic display and will be definitely using the service from now on.

One other useful feature the site has is the ‘hash-tagging’ of certain topical points. By ending each tweet with a # followed by the subject matter, Twitter automatically filters your tweet into a section where others are discussing the same, known as ‘trending’. This allows you to easily gather opinions on the matter and see whether your opinions are of a large or small voice. You can also contribute to news stories with the hashtag system and several tweets are actually selected and read out on TV shows and RSS feeds for example.

It is fair to say that Twitter is an exemplary example of the sheer power that Social media holds in today’s world and it little surprise that almost all major corporations and businesses worldwide have official Twitter accounts. The instant, snappy snippets of information are truly in line with the busy hustle of 21^st century living for sure and it is possible to influence followers on the site. This however is referring mainly to already household names and corporations and I found it difficult as a small independent writer to actually hold any influence on the site. Without fame and exposure behind you it is difficult to fully utilise the site’s powers and you would need endorsement from more popular figures to succeed.

I didn’t attach my blog to Facebook merely for the reasons I claimed Twitter would put you at a disadvantage; you can only contact your friends. Although this would gain exposure it is not of an influential enough level and won’t reach the majority of those who you are trying to reach.

As a corporation however a Facebook page can be incredibly successful and offer loyal followers incentives such as competitions and events in an instant friendly way and regular status updates to create a more personable, approachable brand.  Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and Starbucks are three great examples of huge companies that have re-branded themselves using Facebook as an important tool.

Whilst writing my blog I also looked at forums to gather an idea of people’s thoughts on matters. Whilst I found the sites interesting and certainly entertaining a lot of the information had little credibility. Almost everyone seemed to be negative on matters before the conversations ended up breaking into arguments totally unrelated to the original subject. There were some useful points but as a corporation a forum wouldn’t be too useful as it would be just a pit of insults and unjust complaints, not at all constructive to the the company.

To summarise my experience using social media techniques I would conclude that it is without doubt a business/corporation cannot succeed in this day and age without utilising the technological powers available to them. By ignoring these methods and remaining loyal to outdated ways you are isolating yourself from the billions of social media users that exist today.  A Twitter feed is essential as it allows a sense of interaction, creating a two way relationship between company and consumer. There is nothing worse from a PR point of view than having your audience feel distanced and not really a part of your company. This social media, despite all of its flaws and controversies allows instant, personable and friendly means of communication with a real interactive sense. In full, social media is a necessity in the highly competitive business world we live in in 2012.

Screenshots:

Here you can see my personal page which includes what I have tweeted, my blog address and a handful of information of who is following me and who I am following. As I pointed out earlier it was difficult to gain any real followers without other exposure.

This is my actual blog site (note the link in the task bar . I went for a simplistic easy to use design not to overcomplicate things. On the right hand side is an easy to use glossary of all of my posts which allows my audience to switch between articles with great ease. Underneath this is a little profile blurb about myself, my blog and the link to my twitter account, this interactivity was most useful.

This was one of the most useful features on twitter; my news feed. It would instantly update me of any tweets those who I am following have posted and it’s usability and ease of access were very helpful.