What is Social Media?

Social Media is the democratization of content and the shift in the role people play in the process of reading and disseminating information (and thus creating and sharing content). Social Media represents a shift from a broadcast mechanism to a many-to-many model, rooted in a conversational format between authors and peers within their social channels. Social Media is, quite simply, anything that uses the Internet to facilitate conversations. People now have the opportunity to broadcast their thoughts, opinions, and expertise on a global scale. In many cases, these voices are as influential as many of the most widely renowned journalists and industry experts.

Social Media is empowering people to become the new influencers, and it is forcing PR and marketing professionals to recognize and include these powerful tools in their advertising and marketing communications (marcom) strategies. However, marketers are still unsure exactly how to adapt to the new world of Social Media. Believe it or not, relatively few experts exist, even though there are many actively trying to play the role.

Social Media is powerful. It is not only changing “the game,” it is also inspiring everyone across every marketing discipline to evolve or quickly become victims of media “survival of the fittest.” Some professionals will make it; some won’t. Others will get mired in researching ROI and reasons to justify whether there’s a business case to participate. Others will waste time questioning the viability of Social Media and the need to reform, while simultaneously the world advances around them. Unfortunately, the outcome will be the gradual obsolescence of many marketing departments and advertising and PR teams.

In the mid to late 1990s, Brian Solis observed a shift in PR, which he termed PR 2.0—in recognition of the impact that the Web would have on PR and how the communications industry would be forced to eventually connect with customers directly while still working with traditional and New Media influencers to also reach them. This is an important distinction in the evolution of PR. PR 2.0 was born almost ten years ago, well before Web 2.0, and was inspired by the early signs of the shift in media during the Web 1.0 boom.

Long before Social Media, user-generated content originated from the very people who would inevitably rise up and use the Web as their soapbox, and who would eventually recruit readers, enthusiasts, and evangelists along away. User groups, forums, bulletin boards, and even manually created personal Web sites were the channels through which people shared their thoughts, opinions, expertise, and vision. As the Web grew, so did the ability to reach people through online tools and channels.

Do you remember Deja News? Believe it or not, Google and Yahoo! Groups are still widely used today, and these were among the catalysts for Social Media.

The communications and marketing industries are going through some of the most incredible and dramatic transformations in decades. However, only a few industries are embracing it and pushing things forward. Even though Social Media is eliciting corporate participation and engagement, not all companies believe that this is the right step. These companies hesitate because of a variety of factors, including fear, disbelief, underestimation, lack of ROI and metrics, plain old misunderstanding, misperceptions, or a combination of all these. In general, companies are conservative. They don’t move quickly and are inherently resistant to change—even though the entire media landscape is already transforming radically right before all of us.

In some cases, companies are merely experimenting with Social Media because of mounting competitive or customer pressure. Some are doing a great job. Others, unfortunately, are underestimating it and applying the same old-school approach of “marketing at” people instead of engaging in conversations that will enhance the brand and customer relationships. And, some companies just don’t get it at all. Many executives still view blogs as random musings, social networks as places where people troll for friends, and other social places as founts of pure narcissism. Most notably, companies fear letting go of control and acknowledging that the “wisdom of the crowd” can be a powerful group.

In actuality, companies lost 100% control of their communications a long time ago. People are discussing their brands, products, and services right now, across multiple forms of Social Media, with or without them. Plugging their “ears” and pretending none of this is taking place isn’t going to help the situation or make it go away. Quite honestly, it will only make things worse for the brand. The key is to let go and embrace the chaos.

We are merely nodes in the greater network of life and business. We just need to participate to earn the attention of our customers and peers. Think about it this way: In the process of learning the new channels of influence, you in turn can also become an influencer:

As you participate and contribute content, advice, and information, you build an online portfolio of knowledge that enhances your reputation, boosts your brand, and raises the profile of the company you represent. And most important, that participation encourages customer loyalty. You earn trust, and trust is priceless.

In all honesty, most PR and marketing models are not designed to engage with people directly, nor are they equipped to do so in a way that doesn’t insult those they try to reach. But this doesn’t mean that the future represents doom and gloom for us. Social Media requires one-on-one conversations and unfortunately many marketers and PR “pros,” until recently, have cowered in the shadows, hurling messaging in bulk at people, hoping that some would stick. This is our chance to not only work with traditional journalists, but to also engage directly with a new set of organic influencers using the media channels (traditional and social) that reach them.

PR 2.0 starts with a different mindset and approach, neither of which is rooted in broadcast marketing or generic messaging. It’s all about humanizing and personalizing stories specifically for the people we want to reach. Great PR has always been about telling stories in a way that makes people identify with like-minded individuals to share information and build strong relationships.

Participation is the new marketing. And to participate, we must become the people we want to reach. The New Media landscape is creating a hybrid of PR, online marketers, market analysts, and customer advocates, to effectively and genuinely engage in the conversations that define Social Media and create relationships with customers (those formerly known as the “audience”). No BS. No hype. What we have here is just an understanding of markets, the needs of people, and how to reach them at street level (their street). Social Media isn’t a spectator sport. To truly participate, companies must be inspired and compelled to do so. After all, we’re in this to build relationships with customers wherever they go to share and discover information. This is about the masses, but at the same time it’s about peer-to-peer interactivity.

We’re combining the art of personalized mass marketing with the individualization of distinct, vertical, and smaller markets, also known as the Long Tail. This is the socialization of media, the amplification of word-of-mouth marketing, and the engagement between companies and people (for example, customers, their influencers, and their peers). We can all discover and share information in ways that bring everyone together, and we can extend conversation threads “across the chasm,” bridging stories and market segments with relevance and unique benefits that matter to communities rather than to audiences.

For too long, PR and marketing have operated behind a wall, spamming media with generic e-mails and news releases. Even so, many in the industry have survived without understanding why their news or information matters to the communities they try to reach via this push. Now we have the tools at our fingertips to reach people directly. Some PR pros will fail. However, many smart, proactive, immersed, and passionate professionals will readily adapt to this New Media landscape. If you do so, you will no longer be just another PR person. Instead, your relevance elevates you to someone much more important and influential. You become the PR person who walks into a room and is introduced as more than just some “PR guy/gal.” You now receive a proper introduction. “This is the PR pro, the one you need to meet.” Suddenly, you are proud of your profession again.

In the realm of Social Media, companies will earn the community of customers they deserve. The revolution will be socialized, and it all begins with you. With this book, we intend to help guide you through this new landscape. We wrote this book to show you how to take advantage of the socialization of media, whether you are just starting out or you’ve been in the communications industry for years. Part I, “The True Value of New PR,” is the start of your education. You learn how traditional PR, as you know it today, does not provide communications to accommodate the fundamental shift in our culture. A new layer of influencers is present, as is an entirely new ecosystem for supporting the socialization of information. The influencers and the ecosystem in which they socialize are facilitating new conversations that can start locally but have global impact. As our friend Shel Israel, coauthor of Naked Conversations and a technology adviser for start-ups on strategic communications issues, says, “We are building global neighborhoods.”

As you work your way through Chapters 1 through 5, you’ll quickly understand what’s wrong with PR, how we can fix it, and the clear differences between PR 2.0 and the PR we used to know. You will also learn how PR 2.0 has a place in the Internet economy and how traditional vs. new journalism vs. Social Media is changing the art and process of influence.

Most of all, PR is about relationships. It always has been and always will. Although we discuss many changes throughout this book, it doesn’t change the fact that you need to know what you’re talking about, why it matters, and how and who it helps. Part I discusses how we can put the public back in Public Relations. Basically, we must focus on important markets and influencers. By doing so, we will have a much greater impact than if we try to reach the masses with any one message or tool (old-school PR).

Part II, “Facilitating Conversations: New Tools and Techniques,” is more than just talking about what to do. In this Part, you learn how to implement best practices into a company’s communications plan. This section of the book charts “unchartered” waters for many communications professionals and requires an open mind and a true understanding of the nature of marketing conversations in Web communities. You will read about the reasons why you should strike users and audiences from your vocabulary and how doing so will change your approach (and success rate) in New PR.

Part II also covers how to get into the conversations through blogging, whether corporate blogging or blogger relations with new influencers, and how to develop and sustain mutually beneficial relationship through blogging. This Part also examines other useful tools and techniques, such as Social Media Releases (SMRs), Video News Releases (VNRs), and explains why Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Social Media Optimization (SMO) are vital to PR 2.0 efforts.

The ultimate goal of Part III, “Participating in Social Media,” is to have you internalize a new approach. You will come to realize that Social Media is more about sociology and anthropology (and the social sciences in general) than it is about technology. You will also be reminded (and reminded again) that listening is key to the most intimate conversations in markets where you might not have been invited to participate in the past. In this Part, we also want to raise your comfort level with regard to marketing and Public Relations in social networks. You will gain a true understanding of social networks and micromedia (any form of online media that channels smaller chunk s of “bite-sized” communications through Web communities and mobile devices), which you will come to learn is the hub for your online brand. You will also learn that PR is in the “Long Tail.” Chris Anderson’s (author of The Long Tail) concept applies to the field of PR, and certainly is not about using the news release as your ultimate tool. You reach the Long Tail through conversations in niche areas of Web communities. The Long Tail is perhaps one of the greatest concepts in the field of marketing, and in this Part you learn why it’s so important to your PR 2.0 initiatives.

Part IV, “PR 2.0: A Promising Future,” takes a look at our industry’s future. Communications professionals who embrace PR 2.0 will gain additional influence, and they will also quickly come to realize that PR 2.0 is a wonderful form of customer service for companies. After all, listening to conversations, answering questions, and helping people enables companies to create trust of and foster relationships with a brand. When you listen, you can then use valuable information to better your company and its products and services. The last few chapters of this part introduce you to the new rules for breaking news, the future of news releases, and new metrics relevant to our industry. After all, if you do not monitor and measure your new marketing conversations, how will your knowledge remain current regarding market perceptions?

Part V, “Convergence,” anticipates the future of PR, where PR 1.0 + PR 2.0 = New PR, and explains how to make it a reality today. The future is already underway, and as your professional landscape evolves, so do your roles and responsibilities. New PR is the path to better relationships with your stakeholders and the opportunity to really listen and help your customers. Convergence enables PR to excel in today’s social economy, and you have the opportunity to become a champion, leading your organization to more effectively compete now and in the future. No longer will PR professionals be seen as mere publicists or spin artists. Instead, your role will increase in size and scope. You will become involved in everything from Web marketing and analytics to viral marketing, and from customer service and relationship management to cultural anthropology. Your willingness to converge will lead to new and higher standards for Public Relations and the professionals who serve the industry.