Message to the front office: Integrate the new with the old

There are still businesses and managements out there that don’t see the value of social media in their strategic plans. And no matter what statistic, value proposition to the consumer, or competitive edge you site, your CEO will not even open the door a sliver to see what’s on the other side.

It’s a frustrating prospect to see your competitors keeping up with technology and relevant communications avenues while your business or management continues to use the tactics they have always done before, and fall behind.

The fact is social media is here, and is here to stay. It is not a passing fad.

Diversification: It’s not just for your portfolio

Operating your communications program in silos is a bad idea. But the death spawn of this shortsightedness is putting all your eggs in one basket; operate in a vacuum; living in a bubble – whatever you want to call it.

I know it seems crazy (who would do something like this?), but it does happen. When it does, it creates a business environment that is doomed to failure.

If there’s only one way for people to interact with your business, you are really asking a lot from a potential customer to find out about your products and services. It’s like using one finger to pick up a spoon. It may be possible, but why put yourself through all that extra effort when you have four more that can make the job so much quicker, easier, and effective? So make it easy for people to find you where they are looking. If you’re not, you can bet on it that a competitor is and that customer is likely going to find them first.

Earth to Facebook: Talk to your users

Facebook has a major communications problem on its hands. It regularly and consistently makes changes to its platform to the ire of its 800 million users.

Last week, Facebook launched a new news feed that automatically tells people what their top news is. The change is causing many people in my circles to threaten to cancel their Facebook accounts all together. And I’m sure they’re not alone.

And the changes, they keep a coming. Yesterday, Mark Zuckerberg announced Facebook Timeline at a tech conference which will virtually change the users’ experiences for good.

Welcome to PR Explorer

Hello. This isn’t my first adventure into the world of blogging but this is my first go at a solo effort. Here I’ll explore my personal experiences in the public relations world and use this space as my outlet to discuss my successes, challenges and observations in this evolving industry.

A little about me. I’m a public relations professional for a residential utility advocate. Changes in government have pushed me to evaluate how I have been growing in the public relations field and how I can effectively reach consumers and educate them about utilities and how they can save money. Lately, I have been exploring social media to help me accomplish these goals. If you know of any resources or public relations strategies that could be helpful, I’d love to hear about them.

I’m excited to see where this journey here will take me. I hope you’ll join me as a chronicle my public relations experiences.