CDPR108 - Module 1

There are a few themes in this week's reading that really seemed to resonate with me. First, the ability for social media to 'amplify' messages; second, the value of being able to effectively listen to your public.

Years -- well perhaps decades ago -- there was a commercial for a product I no longer remember, but it went something like this... "I tell two friends, and they tell two friends, and so on, and so on..." and included a simple graphic showing the multiplication of faces. That graphic pretty much sums up one of the main benefits (and potential risks) of social media. If you have a great product/service/organization and can provide content that resonates with your public (and, of course, helps meet your objectives) they will serve to promote it on your behalf by sharing it with their network. Not only have you deployed your message to your public in a cost-effective manner, but the message has been conveyed by what could be considered  'Product Champions' -- thereby increasing the credibility of your message.

In her eBook UNLOCKING SOCIAL MEDIA FOR PR, Sarah Skerik uses the term "Listening to your social echo". Before social media, organizations had limited opportunities to obtain frank feedback and insights from their publics -- if there was a problem, they might receive a few letters or phone calls. If the organization wanted to probe more deeply, they could conduct research. But there were significant limitations with both these outdated options -- for every one letter or call received, there were probably several, perhaps dozens, of other unsatisfied customers. Research can be costly, might not accurately reflect your entire public's sentiment, and participants might not be completely open. Social media has allowed organizations to monitor the usage and attitudes of their publics in real-time -- thereby identifying opportunities in a timely manner and managing issues BEFORE they become crises!

I'm including a link to an interesting info-graphic created by Wedu and posted on Socialmediatoday.com by Craig Smith, showing the benefits of digital PR integration. Personally, I love infographics -- maybe I'm a visual learner, but I find that infographics manage to communicate volumes of complex messages in an easy to understand, memorable, and accessible manner -- ENJOY!

http://socialmediatoday.com/craigpsmith/997891/3-important-benefits-digital-public-relations-infographic