Public Relations and Social Media
Kate Hanley
February 15, 2011
What is Social Media
There is no single universal definition for the term social media. In 2007 the EContent
100 list added social media as a new category. They coined the term for social media as
"Social media describes the way people share ideas, content, thoughts, and relationships
online. Social media differs from so-called 'mainstream media' in that anyone can create,
comment, and add to social media content. Social media can take the form of text, audio,
video, images, and communities. Companies in the social media space create tools and
technologies such as blogging software, podcast tools, wiki software, message boards,
virtual communities, and networking tools, (Scott, 2007)".
Traditional media is very different from social media yet contains many similarities.
Social media and traditional media present people with the same information and stories. The
world we live in today though stories change all the time and new things are constantly
happening around us. With traditional media once something changes it takes time for the
modifications to be put out to the public. Yet with social media the changes can be made
instantly for the public.
Social Media Critical to Public Relations
Social media is changing the face of Public Relations at a fast rate. In a world that is now
almost impossible to live in and be on top of things without technology, social media is guiding
how people receive information. With so many different types of social media companies are
trying to find what sites are the most critical to use. Business grow, a research company is
stating that in 2009 and 2010 facebook and twitter were the most used and beneficial social
media for companies to be on. (Schaefer, 2011)
Schaefer also went on to explain how although only 5% of companies use foursquare right now it
is a type of social media that people should keep an eye on. Within the 5% of companies who do
use foursquare 75% of them said that it is a very effective for marketing.
This chart shows that within the companies that already use these types of social media this is
how successful they find each of those specific categories to be to their company.
Public Relations uses of Facebook
Public relations is all about relationships. This is the exact reason why facebook is so
useful to public relations. Volmar (2010) stated that Facebook is like a party with time to
socialize and relax”. Different types of organizations use Facebook for many different reasons.
People on Facebook install 20 million applications every day (Facebook, 2011). Out of all those
applications there is a select few that are critical to organizations. Public relation practitioners
can measure the success of facebook by reviewing how many people “like” their page, how often
people comment and are involved in conversations and if people are partaking in special things
your page offers to them.
Top facebook applications for nonprofit organizations are notes, flash player, static
FBML, frunrazr, giving impact, myflickr, and twitter (Haydon, 2010). During an interview Randi
Zuckerberg, the head of nonprofits for Facebook, discussed that for nonprofit organizations the
application of “liking” a page on facebook is huge. This is due to the fact that when a person hits
that button on their facebook page it then shows up on all of their friends pages too. This is a
very simple way for word to be spread quickly about this organization. People are more likely to
then go onto the organizations facebook page and see what kind of work they are doing. This in
turn means that people will be more likely to donate to and participate with the nonprofit
organization (Vericat, 2010).
Examples of nonprofit organizations using Facebook are American Cancer Society Relay
For Life, Animal Rights Watch, Greenpeace International, PETA, World Wildlife Fund and
MEDICO. All of these organizations give good details about what they stand for and post
regularly on events that are happening. They all also contain notes so that people can stay up to
date. American Cancer Society Relay For Life and Greenpeace International both have links to
their YouTube pages which is a good way to connect social media sites. PETA’s facebook page
has polls that people can take and a donate button for people to use. Animal Rights Watch uses
flash player to post videos on its facebook page. Some of them are serious while others are more
for entertainment purposes. All of these nonprofit organizations are using their facebook pages
right. (Facebook, 2011)
For businesses the most useful thing that facebook provides is good customer relations.
Through facebook it is very important for businesses to be actively responding to their friends.
They can achieve this through photo contests, video posts, link posts and just commenting back
on their page (Volmar, 2010).
Examples of businesses that use Facebook are Toppers Pizza, American Eagle Outfitters,
Qdoba, Walt Disney World and Geico. Toppers Pizza holds contests for their customers, the one
happening right now is creating a car wrap for the toppers car. Toppers also has a find a toppers
button where people can locate the nearest toppers restaurant. If a person hits the like button for
American Eagle Outfitters they get special discounts that regular customers wouldn’t receive.
Qdoba’s facebook page has bunch of videos that range from commercials to behind interviews
with chef. Walt Disney World has a section where you can enter to win trips to different Disney
parks and a place where you can plan your vacation. They also provide links to other Disney
owned facebook pages. Geico’s facebook page have all of their commercials that people love,
and a list of events that they are associated with. All of these businesses are prime examples of
how to promote a company on facebook. (Facebook, 2011)
The facebook applications that are most useful for governments to use are the like button,
recommendations, activity feed, like box, like badge, and notes (Facebook 2011).
Public Relations uses of Twitter
Twitter is all about keeping up a relationship with people much like facebook. Like
stated before public relations is about maintaining relationships too. Volmar (2010) stated that
“Twitters fast pace is a distracting stream of information”. Public relations practitioners can
measure the success of twitter by the amount of followers they have, how often people mention
their company, how many people @replay them and how many people partake in events that
their twitter page is holding.
Nonprofit organizations that are using twitter should be aware of the following
applications bit.ly, tweetmeme which allows people to tweet things from a organizations website
onto their own person twitters, twitpic, bubbletweet allows its users to place a video onto their
twitter accounts and tweetstats which is graphs about twitter stats (Mansfield, 2010).
Examples of nonprofit organizations using twitter are American Cancer Society,
American Red Cross, The Humane Society, LiveStrong and the National Wildlife Federation.
The National Wildlife Federations twitter posts a lot of links using bit.ly for its followers to
view. LiveStrong’s twitter is very connected with their followers, they retweet and @reply a ton.
They also ask daily questions to their followers. The Humane Society is very active with
responding with their followers also. They retweet pictures that people send them of animals
they have gotten from the Humane Society. The American Red Cross keeps its followers very
up to date with everything that they are partaking in. They post links to their companies’ press
releases. Another thing they do is post links to other social media sites they are using. The
American Cancer Society’s twitter page informs peoples about new studies about cancer and
new surgeries. They also post tons of bit.ly links so that their followers can go more in depth on
topics. (Twitter, 2011)
Twitters homepage now offers a place where businesses using twitter can go to figure out
the best possible ways to use twitter. On twitters business site it states that the top eight ways to
get the most out of twitter for your business is to share behind the scenes information, listen to
your followers on a regular basis, ask for your followers insight, respond to their feedback,
reward them with special offers, reference links about your company, retweet, and establish the
right voice (Twitter, 2011).
Examples of businesses using twitter are Best Buy, Etsy, JetBlue, Moxsie. Best Buys
twitter page has a unique trait. They have a Geek Squad tech twitter handle that people can ask
questions to and someone working at any Best Buy will respond to them. Etsy uses twitter to
share tips, events and promotions to their followers. JetBlue uses its twitter page to ask its
followers what they want to see the company do. They offer customer service to their followers.
Moxsie uses its twitter page to post pictures of new fashions and everything within the fashion
world.
They give their followers an insider look. (Case Studies, 2011)
The government uses twitter just like everyone else does. However there are some things
that the government has to look out for while tweeting. Social Government gives government
agencies some do’s and don’ts for using twitter. They are use twitter as a point of customer
service, twitter is not only for automated feed dumping, be conversational use @ replies and
retweet as much as possible, have fun/be human and don’t share classified information (Klapper,
2009).
Public Relations use of Mobile Media Applications
Public relations use mobile media applications all the time. This is for the simple fact
that people can take this kind of social media with them everywhere they go. Since events
happen with companies that cause changes all the time it is essential that information can reach
people wherever they are and as quickly as possible. Public relations practitioners can measure
the success of mobile media apps by how many people purchase their companies app and how
often people use apps to find out information on their company.
The three mobile media applications that nonprofit organizations should be aware of are
geolocation activism cause world which uses check ins with customers to redeem points that add
up to donations, charityfinder which allows its users to donate to over 1,800 nonprofit
organizations and the extraordinaries allows its users to document tasks they do and make the
nonprofit organizations they are a part of aware of it (Mansfield, 2010).
Examples of nonprofit organizations that use mobile media applications are the Salvation
Army, the YMCA, the American Red Cross, UNICEF and Wisconsin Humane Society. The
Salvation Army’s app plays the familiar sounds of the bell ringing that people are used to hearing
around the holidays. It’s a fun way for people to help spread awareness. The Wisconsin
Humane Society app shows people pictures of cats, dogs and other animals that are waiting to be
adopted. The app also lets those people that don’t want to actually adopt an animal but still want
to help out donate money. UNICEFS app keeps people up to date on their “Believe in Zero”
campaign. It tells people about events that are going on around the world, and also includes a
free song download. The YMCA finder app allows people on the go to search out the nearest
YMCA to them. The American Red Cross app sends people the latest news about humanitarian
concerns around the world through videos, pictures and letters. (App Store, 2011)
On Apple’s website they have a list of the top applications for businesses to be using.
They are oracle, roambi, workday, analytics, sitecatalyst, activestrategy mobile and qlikview
(Track your business, 2011). Examples of businesses using apps are E! Online, American
Airlines, Abercrombie & Fitch, Redbox and E*trade. E! Online app is all about keeping people
informed on what their favorite celebrities are doing through photos, videos and articles. It also
keeps people up to date with the E!’s television shows. American Airlines app allows people to
book flights, get notifications about flights schedules, check in for flights. Along with checking
up on personal details on flights you already have booked. Abercrombie & Fitch app lets people
view the stores new clothes and what is in stock. You can also connect with other shoppers.
Redbox app allows people to search through movies and reserve them before actually heading
out to a Redbox kiosk. People can also find the closest Redbox kiosk. With E*trade’s app
people get all of the same functions that are available to them from their computer. People can
keep up with their accounts and get news about stocks. (App Store, 2011)
The United States government launched 17 of their own mobile media applications in
2010. IRS2go, USAJOBS, Product Recalls, My TSA, The White House and Alternativce Fuel
Locator are just a few of the applications (Mobile Apps, 2010).
Public Relations use of YouTube
Public relations use YouTube to spread the word on their companies in a fast and
efficient way. It’s a simple way to advertise and promote new things that are happening within a
company. Public relations practitioners can measure the success of using YouTube by how
many people are subscribed to their page, how much comments and conversations are being
made on the video topics and how often/how much do people partake in their contests.
Using YouTube for your nonprofit organization has many benefits. Here are a few of
them increased uploading capacity, using Google Checkout “Donate” button, having your
channel listed on a Nonprofit videos page and adding a call to action overlay with your video
(YouTube, 2011).
Examples of nonprofit organizations using YouTube are Witness, Anaheim Ballet, Green
for All, International Rescue Committee and InvisiblePeople.TV. Witness is a human rights
organization with the goal of ending the violations of people’s rights. They post videos on
YouTube in the hopes of spreading the word to everyone that human rights should be met by
everyone. They have the Google Checkout “Donate” button on their page. The Anaheim Ballet
posts weekly videos of podcasts and dancers. They also have the Google Checkout “Donate”
button on their page. Green for All organization posts videos to their YouTube site of recent,
ongoing and upcoming events they are partaking in. They also post interviews with people who
are in charge of events happening and with their partnerships. International Rescue Committee
uses YouTube to keep people up to date with the work they are doing. This includes posting
videos that are refugee stories, thank you videos from people that have been personally affected
by the efforts and events going on. They also have the Google Checkout “Donate” button.
InvisiblePeople.TV is an organization with the goal of helping end homelessness. The channel
consists of interviews with homeless people and with people in power such as majors of cities
and towns. (YouTube, 2011)
Businesses use YouTube to upload presentations, interviews, commercials, podcasts,
hosting contests and how to videos (Evans, 2009). YouTube is an excellent way for businesses
to get their voice heard by customers and potential customers. Examples of businesses using
YouTube are Doritos, Pepsi, E*trade, Mercedes-Benz and Facebook. Doritos and Pepsi teamed
up to create a YouTube page all about possible superbowl commercials. They posted
commercials and had people vote for which ones they wanted to air during the superbowl. The
videos had buttons right on them that people could press to vote for it. E*trade’s is known for its
funny baby commercials, so their YouTube page is mostly dedicated to showing those
commercials. They also provide videos about investing myths, how to invest and how to protect
your portfolios. Mercedes-Benz YouTube page gives people an inside look at the companies’
vehicles, technology. Its videos consist of mostly interviews with their workers and
commercials. Facebook’s YouTube page consists of how to videos, stories from people who use
facebook and how to use facebook to advertise and market on. (YouTube, 2011)
The United States Government has an official YouTube channel. On this channel they
provide United States citizens and other people around the world with updated videos on current
events and how the United States is dealing with them (The U.S. Government Channel, 2011).
The United States government also has other YouTube Channels that go into more specific areas
of the government such as the White House, health and human services and the IRS.
Public Relations use of Social Media
Foursquare is the new up and coming form of social media. Companies can use
foursquare to create incentives for customers, offer promotions contests and giveaways, and
maximize the success of events by using its GPS locator. With the GPS locator it is easy for
people to locate what is around them if they aren’t familiar with their surroundings. As for the
sales and discounts a lot of public relations are having their companies do promos with their
customers where if they checked into different places they can receive special offers. (Hershey,
2010)
Examples of companies using foursquare are Old Navy and Pizza Hut. Pizza Hut’s
special offer at the moment is the Mayor of that specific Pizza Hut will get a free order of
breaksticks with a large pizza. Old Navy’s special offer at the moment is when you check in at a
store you get a free download of an Andy Grammer song. Both of these companies are using
foursquare to encourage their customers to come into the store because they get special offers
that other people don’t receive. (Foursquare, 2011)
A form of social media that has been around for a decent amount of time now is
blogging. Zuk stated that “Businesses with blogs generate 67% more online leads then
businesses without blogs”. Blogging is extremely flexible forms of communication and people
working in the field of public relations find that blogging is something that makes a person stand
out. It is also something that many journalists like to look though to find people to interview
(Zuk, 2010). Since it is something that journalists are looking it is more likely that the business
that a person works for will get publicity.
Examples of companies using blogging are Twitter and Disney Parks. Twitter uses a
blog to inform people that use the website about changes that are being made to the site. It also
provides insight to new things that are being added to the website and new ways that you can use
twitter (Twitter blog, 2011). Disney Parks use their blog to inform people about things
happening every day in the different Disney amusement parks. They are also very interactive
with their readers by posting questions and polls (Smith and Himmelberg, 2011).
Another form of social media that is taking off is Yelp. Yelp is an online guide that
allows people to post review on places to hang out such as restaurants, bars, shopping centers
etc. in cities (Frequently Asked Questions, 2011). This is a great tool for public relations
because it is free publicity for companies. It is a good way for loyal customers to spread the
word on their favorite places. People working in public relations can have their own accounts
and post their own review also.
Examples of businesses using Yelp in Chicago are Kitchen Sink and M Lounge. Kitchen
Skin is a coffee and sandwich shop. It has many reviews on Yelp by satisfied customers. Locals
recommend it which will make people traveling more likely to stop by. The M Lounge is a Jazz
and Blues music venue. The reviews are high for this place too. Both of these places have great
publicity due to being on this website. The site provides people searching for new places to try
out and gives information about places hours and services. (Yelp, 2011)
Hulu is a video social media. Television shows and movies are uploaded onto the
website by the actual networks that they are run on. Examples of businesses that use Hulu are
ABC and FOX. They both allow the rights of their video content to be placed onto Hulu’s
website. This way they don’t have to deal with the legal issues of other people stealing their
video content. (Hulu, 2011)
Groupon is a purchase based form of social media. It is a coupon website that is placed
into different markets for people to use. Businesses public relation teams are using groupon by
providing special offers to customers. The trick here is though that in order to get the coupons
there must be a certain number of people in the area who are on groupon. (Hershey, 2010)
Examples of companies using groupon are Roly Poly and So-Well Dental Associates.
Right now Roly Polys special discount is $5 for $10 worth of rolled sandwiches, soups and more.
The deal for So-Well Dental Associates is a teeth whitening treatment for $179 which originally
costs $595. They are using these deals to invite people into their businesses. This way if they
come in once and enjoy the place they will return for me and tell other people about the business
also. (Featured Deal, 2011)
The Future of Social Media and Public Relations
Social media is here for the long run. Due to social media public relations and marketing
are merging and within the next couple of years there might not be to be of a difference between
the two of them for them to be separate functions (Murtland, 2010). Falkow (2009) stated that
“social media is no longer a fad or something to try out. It will become an integral part of PR
programs and PR people have to master social media and use it strategically to be effective.”
Many people agree with what Falkow is saying. Social media is not going away where fast. In
fact it is just getting started.
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Kate – great start! I wish you would have brought this in for a prewrite, we could have caught
all the errors before it was graded! Anyway, the good news is that you qualify for the
Writing Requirement (pass) if you FIX ALL THE ERRORs by next class period, and print
a copy of this edited version and your final revised version and put under my door by next
class period. 170/200