Given the recent boom of social media and its increased importance in public relations, it’s appropriate that universities across the nation cater their educational efforts to this transition.
In a Businessweek article, Dr. Elaine Young, an assistant professor at Champlain College, said students need to be prepared to begin their professional careers immediately after graduation, and for PR students, social media expertise is one of those requisite skills.
As Sally Falkow points out on her blog, The Proactive Report
, most teens and young adults are quite adept with social media, but it’s for personal use. They have no professional experience with it.
Which makes me wonder, is my education focusing enough on social media?
That was certainly one of my complaints for J440. Don’t get me wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed the class, and it gave me many invaluable tools I’ll need to succeed in the industry. However, I couldn’t help but think that a little extra emphasis on social media would have been nice. It was seldom discussed, and when it was, it wasn’t with any detail.
J452, on the other hand, is quite different. It certainly has an extra emphasis on social media, which I find refreshing and encouraging. But is it enough? Sure, we’re taught the basics of blogging and twitter. We’re instructed on what language to use. The purpose of social media is made quite clear. We want to engage the community and start a relationship through honest communication. But, how do we actually use it?
For instance, let’s say I want to create publicity for a beer-tasting event some microbrewery is putting on, but we haven’t established an online presence. How do I get followers? How do I generate buzz? Traditional axioms in the corporate world say to define your target audience, goals and objectives. Next, use strategies to convince target audience to take action that would fulfill desired goals; measure success and repeat ad nauseum.
While this traditional method certainly has its merit, it doesn’t quite fit the bill for social media.
My education tells me a good tactic would be to start by following some of the more established bloggers and tweeters who have an online presence. These could range from brewers themselves to avid fans. In turn, I could direct tweets at these people about upcoming events, promotional opportunities, or even a good new beer. Tweeting and blogging are more about establishing trusted relationships than using them as promotional tools. After these relationships are established, tweeting or blogging about an event will come off more as a friendly invitation than mere promotion.
Now, diving headfirst into all forms of social media isn’t smart for every business or organization. However, establishing an online presence goes further than blogging and tweeting. Many avenues of social media must be explored, such Facebook, LinkedIn, Delicious and even podcasts. All of these social media can be used to humanize an organization, which helps foster trust and open dialogue — and that, after all, is the desired goal.
Social media represents an exciting new face to public relations and it’s doing great things for the public relations industry. However, careful analysis must be done to determine how to effectively use social media for each organization. It takes more than ascribing to the old methods that have defined the industry for so long. Nurturing trust, encouraging dialogue and establishing relationships are the linchpins of social media.
I’m fortunate enough to attend a university where social media is a very valued, important aspect of my education. I only hope this trend continues as social media becomes increasingly prevalent and influential.
