Everyday PR

Back by popular demand and in light of recent questions regarding social media, EveryDayPR offers a three-part Q&A series on social media with three experts from across the country.  The first of our series begins with Mark W. McClennan, APR, vice president at Schwartz Communications and chair of the Northeast District of PRSA.  I first met Mark at the 2009 Counselors Academy in Palm Springs.  Mark is one of the few professionals I know who can effectively communicate about how technology can be a meaningful part of an organization’s business strategy.  He’s also a lot of fun to be around.

Q. Why should organizations consider social media, especially when today’s economy is calling for people to do more with less?

A. I think that is a very telling question. That is like saying, I am so busy that I don’t have time to go the dentist. It may save you money in the short term, but long term you are looking ad greater expense and two root canals. Social media impacts every business. From the local plumber who is getting praised or savaged on his town’s Wiki, to the largest consumer goods company that is using it to find out what consumer want and launch new products. If you care about talking with your customers (or potential customers) and what to know what people are saying about you, you need to be involved.

Q.  How do organizations know what to do first – Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.?

 A. With all due respect, that is the wrong question to ask. The channels aren’t the key things. In fact, in 5-10 years, the channels we know today may all be gone. Remember AltaVista and Earthlink? One of the biggest mistakes people make is asking “What’s my Facebook strategy?” The questions you need to ask first are:

a) Who am I trying to reach?

b) Why am I doing it, and what do I want to accomplish?

c) How does this support my overall corporate strategy?

d) Which channels and tools will best support the strategy?

Josh Bernoff says it better than I ever could in his book Groundswell, but basically, if you start the discussion with which channel to do first, you have already lost. And just because your competitor is using a certain channel, doesn’t mean you need to be. If you copy off the kid in the class who gets a D, you will get a D as well. Start with the basics and build from there.

Let me give you an example. I work with a health care IT company that makes software for doctors. We had been monitoring social media for a time (think of Twitter and Google Blogsearch as free business/competitive intelligence). We integrated social media as part of our overall communications strategy. One channel we identified was Facebook. Why? Because the client’s primary research showed that 75% of medical students spent a good deal of time on Facebook, with a small minority spending more than 40 hours a month (scary). We also knew they were receptive to information via that channel and that medical students tended to stay loyal to technology they used in school. So we knew it made sense and supported our business strategy.

Q. How much should organizations expect to invest in social media in the initial phases?

 A. I always tell my clients to start small. You can always grow your campaign and engagement. But if you run out of steam or reduce your engagement, you look like a worn out strip mall where half the storefronts are vacant. Research and planning will tell you how much you will need to invest to reach your own goals. Keep in mind, the majority of the cost may not be direct capital outlays, but is likely to be the time invested by your staff or agency.

Q. Where do you see the future of social media?

 A. Five years ago I was a social media skeptic. I was a tech-early adopter and was active on message boards, blogs etc., but I didn’t see any communities or channels that would influence the purchase of a $20 million piece of semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Then I had an epiphany. Social media lets us do what good PR people have always wanted to do. Engage customers, conduct two-way symmetrical conversations and listen in on other conversations. A company seeking to build a concrete plant has always sought to do local grassroots engagement and has wanted to know what people are saying. Social media makes it cheaper, easier and quicker. 

Social media is as evolutionary to public relations as the Internet was in the early to mid 1990s. I remember when email pitches were a novelty and you had to conduct costly focus groups and polling. Now I speak with key reporters via IM and Twitter more than I email them, and I have better insight into many customer segments for less money.

Q. If you could give one piece of advice to organizations considering using social media, what would that be?

A. Start today. Listen. Even if you don’t join the conversations, you need to know what is being said about you, your market and your competitors. Social media engagement is essential to strategic communications.

Next week Gini Dietrich of Arment Dietrich in Chicago talks about how to get started using social media.