Jan 26, 2010
How to Benefit from Social Media
This is the last of the three-part series on social media. Abbie S. Fink, vice president/general manager of HMA Public Relations in Phoenix, talks about how her clients have benefited from using social media. Abbie and I met years ago when I hired her in an agency capacity. Thanks to social media, our relationship has evolved to one of great friendship and professional respect.
Abbie S. Fink of HMA Public Relations
Q: How have HMA and its clients used social media?
A: HMA’s staff embraced social media a couple years ago, starting with our blog. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter last year. We began introducing the idea of social media to our clients about 18 months ago. We started with LinkedIn and blogging, easy points of access. For those who want more, we’ve added Facebook and Twitter to the mix.
Q: How have HMA and clients been able to promote/generate name awareness, particularly for nonprofits?
A: Our not-for-profit clients really have been the ones to actively participate in social media. They have found social media to be a low-cost way to connect with potential consumers, donors, media, etc. to promote their mission, events, etc. Strategies are developed, and together, we deliver on those strategies.
Q: Have you been able to quantity the impact of social media on the agency and/or its clients?
A: That’s a tough question — anecdotally we know that social media is impacting our business and our clients’ business. This is a new service offering for our clients, something that they are interested in pursuing. The challenge is still the ROI in terms of actual measurement. Using search and other tools we are able to look at mentions, what people are saying, and other forms of information gathering. In the not-for-profit sector, we can show increases in donor participation. Other things like website hits or blog comments are other ways to view impact.
Q: What do you see as the future of social media for agencies like yours?
A: Social media is here to stay. What may change is the form in takes — today it’s Twitter, next year it might be something else. For agencies like HMA to stay relevant in the space, we need to be embracing it, using it, learning about it and then sharing that expertise and knowledge with current and prospective clients.
Q: If you could give one piece of advice to organizations using social media, what would that be?
A: Engage, converse and have fun. Social media is an excellent way to develop and maintain relationships — like no other form of customer/client engagement, social media lets you engage with your brand’s users.
Thanks so much to all the social media professionals who participated in this Q&A series. If you have questions or suggestions regarding this topic, please send e-mail to shart@hartpr.com or directly contact any of the experts in this series. And if you like what you’ve read, please consider subscribing to EveryDayPR by clicking the Subscribe button at the top of this page.
Susan — thanks for including me in your series on social media. I hope your readers found it helpful and informative.
I can't agree more with the ENGAGE information. All too often I am seeing businesses – and media folks – jumping on the social media bandwagon to simply use it as another way to promote them selves or dliver their messages without actually building a relationship with anyone in the space. Good insights, Abbie!
Thank you for lending your expertise to the area! And of course, you get the credit – or blame – for getting me started in social media. Now I'm an official fan!
Good point, Alison. I actually talked to a professional acquaintance today who wants to only provide social media services to clients – I suppose for the sake of jumping on the band wagon. Without a strategy to build your brand and relationships, it's pointless. Thanks for commenting.
As social has emerged, Abbie has become a recognized expert. Thanks for the insight. It's a great resource to have. And, I agree, social media cannot stand alone in a communications strategy.
Scott – I feel that Abbie needs to promote and tout her social media expertise in Music City – I'm available to "host" anytime!
[...] own Abbie S. Fink was interviewed for an article on social media that appeared in EverydayPR this [...]