Social Media: The Zinger in PR's To Do List

Social media has had a huge impact on PR and has certainly changed the way we do things.

I remember making my first “blog list” and thinking how incredibly strange it would be to pitch a blogger. At the time I pictured a sluggish-college kid sitting behind his computer, writing about sneakers with hopes that Nike would “gift” him a pair. It took a long while before I embraced the idea that bloggers deserve a PR professional's time, and are very significant to our industry.

A few years after I finally grasped the blog world I was introduced to social media, a world beyond bloggers. I knew better than to hesitate this time. I embraced the digital craze, after all bloggers had become my new best friends, why not add in some Twitter peeps, too?!

Airwalk was my first client to push the social media envelope and flip priorities from print to online placements. This was a huge disruption! All of the sudden my valuable relationships with Antenna and Details editors were invalid. I felt like a freshman in new school that walked into the wrong class - full of seniors. I had to make new friends and find a way to be a relevant cool kid again.



What I quickly found out was that the world of social media opens up endless (virtual) doors. Not only was I harnessing valuable relationships for myself and my clients, I was learning from these people. The sluggish-college kid sitting behind his computer was actually an educated person with a lot to say about things I cared about!

By the end of our first Airwalk viral campaign we reached the brand’s top targets and built relationships that were critical for future successes. Once we launched Airwalk’s campaign we quickly followed suit for brands like Eddie Bauer, First Ascent and K-SWISS.

Each campaign further proved the significance and power of social media. Sales grew. Buzz swirled. And clients were happy.

Social media had definitely thrown a zinger in my “to do” list. We hired an entire social media team to keep up with demands of clients and relationships with social media-ites. The disruption of social media was not a welcomed one (for me) but once I was educated on its value I was its loudest cheerleader.

Since I can only provide insight as a PR professional, I thought it would be interesting to throw this question out to a successful blogger and see what he thinks…

Jay Dolan, founder of The Anti-Social Media, shed some light on whether social media disrupted PR. Known for his social media satire, Jay was quick to answer “yes” and pretend it was that simple. He then went on to explain that, yes, corporations are expected to be "on" and able to answer customers concerns and questions quickly and publicly. PR is no longer confined to just sending out a release, but also reaching out to people on Twitter and independent bloggers. The potential rewards are greater, along with even greater perils. It's an exciting time to live in. And then he cautioned… Just watch what you type.