The guys behind last year’s high-profile Blogging for Business conference staged another event yesterday on the theme of Social Media Influence. I took part in a panel on “Putting the Public back into Public Relations” and it was interesting to hear about the challenges some comms people in the audience were facing.
One person asked about when is the right time to engage with critics online, and GM’s Keith Childs made a strong case for the value of having a corporate destination like a blog where brands can present their case direct to consumers. GM’s Fast Lane is one of the pioneers in this space.
The discussion also looked at examples of good and bad practice, and panellist Neville Hobson raised concerns that blunt attempts to mass spam bloggers has triggered a backlash among some who are now refusing to hear from brands and PR people. We touched on how the PR industry needs to understand how and when to engage.
For me it’s essential to have relevant content, and to present it in a way that bloggers will find value in. Plus it’s vital to reach the right people who are both happy to have the conversation, and have a level of influence.
It’s also vital that any social media activity is tied into a wider comms strategy, rather than seen as standalone, yet often ”digital” is siloed in marketing rather than seen as an essential part of PR. It will be interesting to see how this evolves in coming months and years…
Helen, it was great to see you on the panel. I agree that the PR/Marketing ownership of social media activity is still a challenge.
I wish the panel had had time to do some future gazing on the Comms pro of the future. Always interesting to hear how PRs see their roles shifting due to social media rather than the “PR is dead” headline we often see.
It is interesting to see the title of the panel, cause just yesterday I was making a short presentation on that very topic at PR conference here in Moscow.
I couldn’t make it to this event, but really look forward to see you later this year, when I am in London.