3. This is how some people remmeber 9/11 today. Do you remember these images? You
mean they’re not real? They’re fakes? But I got them off the Web! They must be true! The
blogs said so! They were on Flickr! There’s videos on YouTube! My Facebook Friend has
them posted in a scrapbook. One of my Twitter followers sent me a tweet about them. I got
it on my iPhone just now.
Actually, all of these photos are fake, ripped from conspiracy theory blogs.
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8. See – anyone can broadcast. We all have the power. But is anyone listening? And if they
are, what are their reactions?
As professional public relations practitioners (say that 10 times fast) we are concerned as
much about the reaction as we are the message. We are about dialog that produces win‐
wins.
What separates us from the rest?
What separates us from the rest?
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26. The Allstate social media PR campaign is a great example of what is possible. However, this
campaign doesn’t even register a blip on the Quantcast li t All t t ’
i d ’t it bli th Q t t list. Allstate’s main web site averages 1.2
i b it 12
million visits a month. So what are they doing wrong? This is not an INTEGRATED marketing/PR
campaign. This is solely driven by who discovers it through the social media. It wants to be “viral.”
But if you want to reach people faster, you still need the advertising, the traditional PR, the
publicity, the news. Social media is not replacing traditional communications. It is adding the direct
feedback component and it can give life to things on its own. It is “word of mouse.” And it’s not
going away. I like to think those of us who use Social Media professionally, ethically and responsibly
will be successful.
To help you get started, here are some of the books I’ve read this summer. I’m not quite done with
Solis yet, he does a great job of explaining all the tools and he comes at it from a sociology mindset
– not a PR/marketing/advertising mindset – which is interesting. David Meerman Scott was eye
opening for me when I read it in January and I’ve been trying to get there ever since, it’s been
tough because I still have to do a lot of old job. He is looking at it from the PR/marketing
perspective, similar to Customer Relationship Management and online guru Seth Godin. This
Facebook book is now a year old and Facebook has changed some since then, but it’s a good guide
to getting on there because it is not the most intuitive, user‐friendly interface. It’s really pretty lean
i h b i i h i ii f i dl i f I’ ll l
and mean and text link dependent. Social Media Marketing is the next on my list because I want to
see how this guy does it in an hour a day. I’m spending 2 or 3 on Twitter, blogs and Facebook.
But here’s my dilemma – without advertising or publicity announcing our presence, attracting
curiosity seekers, Social Media is a slow grow. You have to have a really sexy product or service.
Unfortunately, being sexy is playing with fire, and we are being cautious as we try to get a handle
on the changing landscape.
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