Cadence’s PR Blog

My last example of PR is focused on using social media to impel online giving to non-profits and other charitable events. In this article on Movember, the author discusses how hashtags and tweets transformed the success of this charity fundraiser last month. Twitter is being used as a social media method to promote and stir interest in non-profits and even motivate online giving more than ever before. Another example is a recent twitter account and innovative organization that was created just for finding needs and requesting items of need to its followers. It’s a local system based in Atlanta, and it’s an easy way for people to feel like they are contributing just by giving away the things they might have just thrown away otherwise. Community service and generous networking are being escalated through the public relations techniques being applied through twitter. This twitter organization is called beremedy and its effective short messages have aroused enough interest to produce a steady growth over the last few weeks. Although it is still in the making, additional PR work and tactics will increase its success in the metropolis of Atlanta. Maybe a hashtag and website linking larger blog posts and a mission statement too could effectively increase the success of this organization. However, so far the PR technique of using short messages on twitter and word of mouth have been successful tactics. This is a good example of how traditional and new age public relations can work well together.

My fourth example is a freelance public relations practicioner who is using her social status and connection strategies to assist brands and artists whom possess social values and talents that she admires. People contact her when they are searching for strategies to reach a public or seeking assistance on social media strategies to communicate with their publics. She has just created a twitter, a website page, and is already developing a worthy reputation. One of her current projects is working to develop awareness and interest in a local musician that she has discovered. Tara, the practioner, is an excellent example of somebody who has not underestimated the value of word of mouth communication in public relations strategy. Her recommendations and opinions have developed a reputation of her being trustworthy and a worthwhile listen. That reputation has allowed her to reach publics for her clients by simply utilizing word of mouth in favor of those who are listening. By integrating social media, she only expands the audience further and creates a message that is heard more quickly. Her twitter recommends artists and companies so that her followers can see her highly-valued recommendations and take note of them. Tara’s work and tactics are great examples of PR. As she uses social media to expand her reputation, so will the reputation expand of the clients she recommends.

Another fairly new social media device being used for internal communications in Google Wave. Although this is a new and not highly used device, it is receiving a great deal of talk from the social media world. The incentive behind its creation for the work place was to create a social media route for real-time collaboration and organization of ideas or to make team adjustments to documents. I think that as soon as this application is understood by companies crowd better, it will be another social networking boom. This is just another example of how technology is being used to stimulate open communication and employee relation strategy.

Another interesting and new way that internal communications is being used within technology is through iPhone applications. As noted in the presentation that was linked with this assignment, Kraft foods has an app for employee communications, but they are not the only ones to discover this tool. On the Apple website, there is an entire page for business collaboration apps. Applications such as the Cisco WebEx Meeting Center allow employees to attend meetings from their phone will full visuals and audio conferencing. Meetings can even be scheduled straight from the iPhone through this application. Users can view who is attending and even create individual chats with employees in attendance. This is just one of the many application tools offered that allow employees to stay connected outside the office.

Although many of these social media tools have increased employee networking and satisfaction, they still do not replace face-to-face communication. These tools should be used to compliment and add to a company’s efforts, but they should not completely replace the physical communication outreach that makes employees feel valued and truly connected. If social media and face-to-face communication can integrate appropriately, a company will be more likely to discover a high degree of success.

Companies are integrating blogging as a way to strengthen weak ties and network internally. Employees are becoming more connected and involved than ever before thanks to all type of social media tools. An interesting trend of corporate blogging has swept over many large corporations including, but not limited to Dell, Zappos, and Coca-Cola. Although corporate blogging can be used as a tool to outreach to others publics rather than just employees, that does not take away their impact on employee networking. On the shoe website Zappos they have 13 corporate blogs that talk about what’s going within the walls of the company and provide silly videos for employee entertainment.  Pictures from employee events and news about partenerships are posted to keep everyone informed and intrigued. This type of communication overall increases employee loyalty and collaboration efforts.

Dell also uses blogging as a tool. They have 9 official internal blogs just for employee networking and to send out internal updates. They also have hundreds more team blogs created outside of the official nine. Another type of blogging they actively use for internal communications is microblogging. They have a twitter account called “TeamDell” that was created specifically to follow employees on the Dell Team and unite them in social media interaction. Employees have created counts with their name inserted in @____atdell to distinguish their identity. Dell is not the first company to hop on this trend and they will definitely not be the last. Employees can now be connected personally and porfessionally through social media.

This article found in the Chicago Tribune discusses how Facebook is being used as a public relations tool for many large retailers. Stores are connecting with their customer public better than they ever have before, thanks to the simple use of social media. The key? Facebook’s “fan pages.” Not only can retailers inform fans about sales, deals, and products, but they can also receive feedback in a controlled environment as well. This tool is a great arena for online monitoring. Some of the larger fan pages, such as Best Buy’s page, even staff people just to monitor and respond to the Facebook comments. A public relations practitioner makes an interesting comment in the article about how these pages were originally created to boost sales, but they are now becomes crucial branding tools. Also, this is a public relations tactic that isn’t just exclusive to large retailers. Any person or brand can have a fan page. Small businesses now have a way to get their products out into the social media realm and create a larger name for themselves. This also made me think of a friend of mine who is a musician. He created a Facebook fan page about six months ago and has been able to utilize it as a form of public relations with his fans. He can inform them about concerts and other special offers on his music, increasing fan loyalty and other publics’ interest.

My next example of PR is actually in the form of an email. I received this email after attending a concert that was hosted through Live Nation, a ticket distribution site. I have used the ticket distributer before for events and they always do a great job of contacting me afterwards to ask about my experience or provide ways for me to sign up for notifications on future events I may want to attend. As soon as I saw this email, I could not help but notice all the great PR techniques used. The email is also signed by the CEO and President of Live Nation which is a display of professionalism in the use of Public Relations. The email does a great job of being short, engaging, and concise in its request for feedback. To increase participation in the survey and feedback, they inform recipients that their feedback will enter them in a drawing for season seats in one of their ampitheatres. Then, to add to the efficiency of the message, they include links to their Twitter account and Facebook fan page at the bottom. This is PR at it’s finest in the social media world right now. They are effectively reaching out to their consumers and creating on-going positive relationships with this public. I always enjoy purchasing tickets through this site because of how detailed the information about the concerts are and how fan-focused their PR tactics have proven to be over time. They don’t tack on many fees when you purchase tickets and they make sure to explain all the fees clearly, unlike other ticketing sites. Overall, this company is utilizing it’s PR capabilities wonderfully and the email link I provided is only one example of their efforts.