Ayanna Aponte
Kristen Pappaterra
http://kp01686.wordpress.com/2014/06/12/blog-post-4/comment-page-1/#comment-19
Author: madisonroesel
Social Media & PR
With the popularity of social media today, it is crucial to include into public relations practices. Social Media is equally, if not sometimes more, important than traditional public relations practices like print media. It is a two-way communication channel that allows interaction and feedback from the public – something print media does not offer. I would even go as far to say that social media is the epitome of public relations. It can be used effectively in public relations campaigns and in everyday public relations efforts. You can think of it like a chain reaction or word-of-mouth but more like “word-of-posts”. Every day or however often you choose , you can put out a message for minimum to no cost and it then spreads like wild fire with every like, re-tweet, or share. It is a powerful and effective way to create conversation or excitement about a brand.
I will definitely continue to use my Twitter account that I created for this class. It is fun to communicate with PR professionals and to learn from them. It really keeps me focused on my professional goals and motivated about public relations. I love LinkedIn but I find it much more fun and easier to be active on Twitter. It is a great networking tool and heavily used within the public relations world. To succeed in public relations it is important to both market your brand on social media and make a personal brand for yourself to market on social media.
Follow me on Twitter @MadisonRoeselPR !
Online Activism
I love the fact that you can use your social media accounts as tools to promote and spread the word about causes and movements that you support. I definitely use this tool and like the things that mean a lot to me because I want to be able to share it with others and also get updates about what is going on with whatever cause or movement. Some that I have joined in the past include The Marshall Project, Mama Jade, Crosspoint Missions and Kony 2012. I chose to support each of these for different specific reasons, however; they all revolve around the idea that I want to spread the word. For example, Mama Jade is a Facebook page started by a woman who rescued an abused pit bull that was on the verge of death but was nursed back to health. She works at the veterinarian’s office so began the page immediately. Mama Jade (the dog) did not look good. As people shared and liked her page more and more people were able to follow the dogs progress from near-death to a lively and energetic pup. Now, with the number of likes the page got (mine included) the page is used as a forum to support dog rescues and advocate against animal abuse.
I choose not to join social medium forums when I do not strongly support the cause. If I am going to like something and get 10 updates a day, it is going to have to be something that you truly enjoy because unwanted notifications get annoying. People start and join social media movements for the same reason as I do, to spread the word. When I was 16 I started a social media forum on several different platforms about a horrible boarding school I had the honor of spending 3 months in. They basically manipulated a bunch of parents into keeping their children in the school because they were on the verge of going bankrupt (for the second time). It was terribly expensive and didn’t offer anything there fabulous website promised parents and their children. When I got out, I immediately called a friend’s parents who I had met in there and told them the truth about everything going on in the place. I called, emailed and texted her parents every day until they got her out. Then, she and I together did our best to get the word out about the place. We started a Facebook page and also found and used blogs and forums about boarding schools in the United States and blew them up. The place had been open for a long time (under several names) so we managed to get an unexpected number of likes, comments and activity from previous students and parents alike. We also had support from people who had been in similar “schools” across the nation. Within 4 months, my friend and I (and our content online) convinced nearly half of the parents of the remaining 30 students at the school to pull their children out. A year later, the school was shut down and still is to this day. The internet is very powerful and it’s great to be able to use it for a good cause!
Social Media Oops
Shutterfly has apparently put itself in the doghouse with loads of people on its mailing list. Apparently, what should have been a specifically targeted congratulation letter to new parents was accidently sent to every one of the company’s users. This has clearly caused heat with those who wish to be parents but are unable to for various reasons. Shutterfly did release a short statement on Twitter the same day however did not release a formal apology letter until early Thursday morning. In crisis management, it is important to plan and respond as quickly as possible. Shutterfly did respond fairly quickly but it definitely could have been quicker. If I were on charge, I would have sent out an apology letter on the night of the accident, rather than two days later. I also would have offered everyone some kind of purchase discount or incentive to show that you know you messed up and you are going to make it up to them. Aside from timeliness, it is also important to tell your public that the mistake will never happen again. This is something Shutterfly did correctly. They also took full blame in the mishap without even giving a cause for why it happened. They simply stated that they realized they messed up and it will never happen again. Like I said, I probably would have offered something in return to causing all of the distress in some people’s lives. As parenthood can be such a sensitive topic, I am sure that Shutterfly lost some customers over this mistake.
Story found here: http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/16664.aspx
Social Media & TV
Social media is a great way for viewers and fans to be able to interact and discuss their favorite television shows among one another or with their favorite celebrities. A hashtag is powerful. Even if you don’t have a friend who watches a show you love, search for a hashtag and you have millions of people to discuss it with and be excited about it with on social media. You can even tweet the people in the show. I don’t do it a lot but I have tweeted Daniel Tosh during a his live show, Tosh.0 and got a response! I have also tweeted during The Voice just to join in on everyone’s conversation and cheer on my favorite contestant. Twitter and other social media platforms give viewers and fans a voice they haven’t always had. Not only does it allow fans to comingle, but it also allows the TV show to look at what the fans are saying and be able to respond or make a change. I don’t follow many celebrities on Twitter unless they are in the midst of a controversy and I want to see what they are saying. So this basically always includes Miley Cyrus. She is just crazy and it is amusing. I also follow the majority of the Kardashian clan because I think they are just fabulous and disgusting at the same time. I follow a few bands such as Widespread Panic just because I am a fan and they put up cool quotes. I also like to follow comedians, politicians and pastors.
Social Media_Madison Roesel 