The following blog post relates to strategies and tactics that should be taken into consideration. I encourage everyone to read the book “Do the Right Thing: PR Tips for a Skeptical Public,” by James Hoggan.
Not only has social networking sites affected the way friends and family communicate, now businesses have found their way how to “manipulate,” consumers and other businesses as well.
“Social media have removed a degree of artifice or 'polish' that has always existed in marketing PR. These days, Guadagno says, you have to spend more time dealing with the facts and less time on 'positioning' or on carefully scripted messages” [pg 37].
In other words, you can’t always go by what you see and hear. At least that’s what I believe. It’s easy to put something up online, but if there’s no factual information behind it, what good would it make to even post it? So many PR practitioners and other business owners are sometimes so focused on getting consumers that their moral and ethics go out the window. If companies are confident about the information provided to us, there would be no need to worry.
“Social media allows companies to leverage the power of people who have not, until now, had a voice in the marketplace” [pg 38].
PR has found a way to use PR tactics through other companies, such as iPhone and Apple because they are well aware that these are companies that gain a lot of consumers, so why wouldn’t they want they want to team up with those top companies so that they can market the company and build a name for themselves as well. It’s all about strategy.
The last point that I’d like to make is “cost.”
It’s quite simple: Advertising and promoting different companies and products through social media are much cheaper than printing 9in some cases). If you have a general idea of the target audience you’re aiming for, there should be no problem for you to get your product sold.
PR is not only a skill, but it’s also a gift. It’s either you have it or you don’t.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Privacy? Social Networking? Yeah right!
Let's talk about privacy. Better yet, let's talk about how it rarely exist anymore, especially when dealing with social media. People fail to realize that how you treat someone and what they may say on these social networks could affect the rest of their lives.
It’s been said numerous times that social networks were build upon “networking.” However, not everyone knows exactly how to network or how to differentiate the social from the network. The best way I can describe it is, for example, if you’re logging on to these sites to simply stay in touch with your close friends and family with no intentions on looking up and possible future employers or trying to get your name out in a professional setting, you’re safe. But when you know in your mind that you’re that go-getter who has to meet the next P. Diddy or the legendary Oprah and you have explicit pictures of yourself from the club or maybe a private party, then there may be some precautions you want to take:
1. You may want you create a separate profile if you don't want various companies, clients or organizations seeing your regular profile.
2. If you opt not to create another profile, then at least set up your limited profile (which can be done on any social networking site).
In case you haven’t figured out what privacy has to do with any of this it’s simple. You have none. Everything you say, do or put on any of these social networks, someone has access to it. True enough you may have some people who are on your limited profile, but what about the ones who aren’t? It’s impossible for us to know everyone that they know. The same people we’re trying to hide from may be standing over the desk of someone we aren’t hiding from.
I’m not trying to persuade you to get rid of your social networking sites.
It’s been said numerous times that social networks were build upon “networking.” However, not everyone knows exactly how to network or how to differentiate the social from the network. The best way I can describe it is, for example, if you’re logging on to these sites to simply stay in touch with your close friends and family with no intentions on looking up and possible future employers or trying to get your name out in a professional setting, you’re safe. But when you know in your mind that you’re that go-getter who has to meet the next P. Diddy or the legendary Oprah and you have explicit pictures of yourself from the club or maybe a private party, then there may be some precautions you want to take:
1. You may want you create a separate profile if you don't want various companies, clients or organizations seeing your regular profile.
2. If you opt not to create another profile, then at least set up your limited profile (which can be done on any social networking site).
In case you haven’t figured out what privacy has to do with any of this it’s simple. You have none. Everything you say, do or put on any of these social networks, someone has access to it. True enough you may have some people who are on your limited profile, but what about the ones who aren’t? It’s impossible for us to know everyone that they know. The same people we’re trying to hide from may be standing over the desk of someone we aren’t hiding from.
I’m not trying to persuade you to get rid of your social networking sites.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Social Networking: A Gift and a Curse
Social networking is something that we'd like to think of as fun-keeping in touch with friends,family and networking. So with all these great qualities happening in social media, where did these social media sites go wrong?
Sites such as Facebook and Twitter are popular among the college generation. Most college students have a social life outside of the classroom. They party, have socials and all-in-all just enjoy having fun. In the midst of all this fun, there's always those few people taking pictures. This could be both a good or a bad thing. It could be a bad thing because, what can be nothing but innocent fun, may end up ruining someone's reputation in a snap of a picture. However, it could be a great thing because if an employer does run across certain pictures and it respresents the employee well, this will show the company that you can have fun and still look presentable at the same time. Meaning, the company won't have to worry about you making them or yourself look back.
Although there's a certain way I believe we should present ourselves to the public, I also believe that those on the outside looking in, shouldn't look in so deeply. How is it that different employers are in such a hurry to find out about our lives, when we know nothing about theirs? Well, it's mainly because companies spend a ton of money to recruit and train emploayees. If companies see that there may be a problem with a employee, most likely these companies won't hire them, which means less money these companies would have to spend.
Even with the whole "privacy setting" on, these sites still aren't fully trusted by their users. Just as someone can hack into your account, I'm sure employers can find ways around the "privacy setting" to gain more information their employees. So in a sense, the little privacy we thought we had just got snatched right from under us.
Social netowrking: What seems to have once been a gift of simple and faster communication just became a curse.
Sites such as Facebook and Twitter are popular among the college generation. Most college students have a social life outside of the classroom. They party, have socials and all-in-all just enjoy having fun. In the midst of all this fun, there's always those few people taking pictures. This could be both a good or a bad thing. It could be a bad thing because, what can be nothing but innocent fun, may end up ruining someone's reputation in a snap of a picture. However, it could be a great thing because if an employer does run across certain pictures and it respresents the employee well, this will show the company that you can have fun and still look presentable at the same time. Meaning, the company won't have to worry about you making them or yourself look back.
Although there's a certain way I believe we should present ourselves to the public, I also believe that those on the outside looking in, shouldn't look in so deeply. How is it that different employers are in such a hurry to find out about our lives, when we know nothing about theirs? Well, it's mainly because companies spend a ton of money to recruit and train emploayees. If companies see that there may be a problem with a employee, most likely these companies won't hire them, which means less money these companies would have to spend.
Even with the whole "privacy setting" on, these sites still aren't fully trusted by their users. Just as someone can hack into your account, I'm sure employers can find ways around the "privacy setting" to gain more information their employees. So in a sense, the little privacy we thought we had just got snatched right from under us.
Social netowrking: What seems to have once been a gift of simple and faster communication just became a curse.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Survey Research
According to PR Research Methods "Using surveys is the most popular public relations research method for learning more about large audiences or groups of customers. Surveys ask questions to determine the respondents' background, opinions, attitudes and reported behavior." [Dr. LaRae M. Donnellan pg 5]
But where does a survey go wrong?
PR practitioners are quick to attempt a survey to understand how the muddled-middle analyzes different scenarios that practitioners sometimes forget to stop and think, "Are surveyors really telling the truth?" Most of the time it only takes a few minutes to do a survey, and if the people they're trying to target just happen to be in a rush while doing the survey they may select an answer that normally wouldn't be an answer.
Another problem that PR practitioners run into is maybe they are surveying the right people. If this is a "random survey," then practitioners may have a better chance a reaching the right target audience.
Writing Good Survey Questions:
*The easiest type of question to write is a closed-ended question, which are typically your yes or no answers. There aren’t always appropriate.
Survey Questions must be:
- Exclusive, exhaustive, valid, and reliable.
*Nominal lowest level of precision
*Ordinal responses are placed in some type of order such as "Many," "some" and "few."
*Ratio intervals are the most precise.
There are several ways in which one can conduct a survey. As a PR practitioner and expert which is appropriate for the correct gender, age and orientation. As mentioned before surveys are the most effective ways for PR practitioners to reach its target audience, and will continue to be.
Always start with research and end with evaluation.
But where does a survey go wrong?
PR practitioners are quick to attempt a survey to understand how the muddled-middle analyzes different scenarios that practitioners sometimes forget to stop and think, "Are surveyors really telling the truth?" Most of the time it only takes a few minutes to do a survey, and if the people they're trying to target just happen to be in a rush while doing the survey they may select an answer that normally wouldn't be an answer.
Another problem that PR practitioners run into is maybe they are surveying the right people. If this is a "random survey," then practitioners may have a better chance a reaching the right target audience.
Writing Good Survey Questions:
*The easiest type of question to write is a closed-ended question, which are typically your yes or no answers. There aren’t always appropriate.
Survey Questions must be:
- Exclusive, exhaustive, valid, and reliable.
*Nominal lowest level of precision
*Ordinal responses are placed in some type of order such as "Many," "some" and "few."
*Ratio intervals are the most precise.
There are several ways in which one can conduct a survey. As a PR practitioner and expert which is appropriate for the correct gender, age and orientation. As mentioned before surveys are the most effective ways for PR practitioners to reach its target audience, and will continue to be.
Always start with research and end with evaluation.
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