The document summarizes the current state of social media in public relations and expectations for PR professionals. It outlines how PR has become a key focus area for social media and must adapt to remain competitive in the evolving social media landscape. Professionals are expected to build expertise through skills, tools and relationships to establish themselves as knowledgeable resources. Advocacy is important to demonstrate PR's value in social media and combat perceptions from other disciplines that social media success is independent of PR. Building communities of advocates through genuine connections is also emphasized as a way to strengthen personal brands and visibility within the field.

1. Game of Social Media:
Public Relation’s Place and Future in the
Evolving Battlefield of Emerging Media
Karen Freberg, Ph.D. | Associate Professor in Strategic
Communication
University of Louisville | @kfreberg

2. About Me
 Associate Professor in Strategic
Communications at the University of
Louisville
 Education
 BS in PR from University of Florida
 MA in Strategic PR from USC
 PhD in Communication from University of
Tennessee
 Professional Experience
 Consulting and Professional Class clients
include DHS, NCFPD, General Motors,
Hootsuite, HubSpot, and Breeder’s Cup
 Coffee Drinker
 Social media enthusiast

3. PURPOSE
 Social media research and the industry has
changed substantially over the years,
transforming social media into a key area of
focus for public relations practitioners,
professors, and students.
 This presentation will outline the current state of
social media in PR, expectations from industry,
and best practices WE need to know heading
into 2018, and beyond.

7. How would you describe the
social media industry to
someone outside of the field?

8. Welcome to the Game of Social Media

9. How does
this all tie to
my work?
Researc
PracticeTeaching

10. Where does PR stand in the Game of Social
world?

11. Game of Thrones = Current State of PR
Game of Thrones
 Everyone wants the Iron Throne (aka social
media ownership).
 White walkers are all around us (trolls).
 Got to have dragon glass (tools and skills) to
survive.
 Battles emerging all around from different
families (disciplines).
 Taking claim to actions
PR
 If you can’t beat them, join them.
 Work with other disciplines to integrate their
practices into your own curriculum.
 Identifying the potential threats and
assimilation of our PR field into others
 Got to have the right tools for the job to be
marketable.
 Advocacy > Sitting on the sidelines

12. The odds are sometimes against you
 Expectations from the field and
what should (and should not) be
taught in PR and social media
classes.
 Kim & Freberg (2016), Freberg,
Remund & Ketler-Previs (2013)
 How a professor should incorporate
social media for themselves in their
classes
 Merle & Freberg (2016)
 Growing pressure for keeping up
with the trends and updates
 Freberg & Kim (2016)
 Zhang & Freberg (2018)

13. Knowledge is Power in Social Media

14. Knowledge as Power
 Information and exclusivity is the most valuable
currency in the social media space.
 Invest in building your understanding of social
media to become a resource
 Connect with not just influencers, but micro-
influencers who are invested heavily in their
expertise and industry
 Join Twitter chats, FB groups, private paid groups
(ex. Brand Food with Jeremy Darlow and Michael
Ehlrich) and engage with building relationships with
audiences
 Certifications (Hootsuite, HubSpot, Brandwatch,
Google, etc) will always be valuable.

15. White Walkers are Amongst Us

16. Trolls [aka White Walkers]
are all around us
 There will always be people who will
not like you. That’s life.
 Understand where they are coming
from, and evaluate their reasons.

17. Formulate your own dragon glass
(aka skills, experiences, etc)

18. Formulate your own
dragon glass (skills)
It’s not only what you know, but who knows what you
can do!
 How to gain partnerships and collaborations with
brands, agencies, and companies as a
professional.
 Brands are investing in education, so why are we
not part of the new equation for education and
training?
 Reach out to brands you feel match with your
areas of expertise, interests, and experiences.

19. You got to have a community to back you up

20. Community
 Foster relationships with others
you feel view social media the
same way you do.
 Engage and share ideas
 Build your own best advocates
 Mentor and help others
 Mutually beneficial relationships
build loyalty
 Listen and evaluate what they are
saying
 Create your own community

21. One way in
becoming known
It’s not what you know
that only matters, but
who knows you, and
knows what you have to
offer that is unique.

22. Become
KNOWN
 Building on personal brand on social media by
creating a community, but tailoring the
experience with each person based on the
relationship, platform, and metrics.
 Embracing HIM (Human Interaction Marketing)
as a way to build relationships.
 Taking networking to the next level.
 Use data to inform who are the vibrant
members of your community. Who engages
with you the most? Who are your best
advocates?
 Don’t go for the hard sell- reach out to people
you genuinely want to connect with.
 Don’t stalk or steal contacts – it’s in poor taste
and can easily be seen by the world

23. Actions speak louder than tweets

24. Actions speak louder than tweets
 There are a lot out there that “fake it till they make it.” Don’t do this.
 Evidence and showing people what you have done is crucial (due to the rise of
fake influencers).
 You can have the best personal brand in the world, but if there is any disconnect
(ex. reputation dissonance), this could impact your reputation in the field.
 Offline activities need to be aligned with online interactions.
 Sustainable conversations can lead to strong relationships.

25. Tell ”them” it was
[PR]
 Many disciplines will say the
reason social media has been
successful is because of what
they have done.
 PR has a strong foundation in
relationship building and
storytelling, so we have to
become our best advocates
for what we are doing in
social media.
 If we do not advocate for
ourselves, no one else will.

26. We have been sitting on the social media throne, and
everyone wants to rule it.

27. Being yourself
is what makes
you
memorable

28. Summary
 Knowledge and Information = most valuable currency in social media
 Invest in the tools and relationships within PR and outside of the field
 Advocate for the value and worth PR has in social media
 Identify your own personal contributions to the field
 Harness and invest in getting new skills to add to your toolkit
 Be aware as you rise, you will gain detractors
 Invest in your community of advocates to help amplify your brand

30. Q+A
karen.Freberg@louisville.edu | @kfreberg | (502) 852-4668