So here is where I tread into some dangerous territory since I know that some of THP's clients and new business prospects are readers of this blog.
After engaging full force for the last several months into the that squishy place where traditional public relations and social marketing converge, I am more convinced than ever that the use of these platforms to communicate directly to friends and the broader public is here to stay at least for the foreseeable future.
As we have introduced these new platforms and tools to clients and new business prospects we have presented these opportunities as additions to what we normally do, priced somewhat separately from our regular services. This gives the clients options, one of them of course is to say no.
While social marketing is not for every company or client, I'm coming around to the line of thinking that we should be presenting it as less of an option and more of regular offering just like media relations, community relations, message development. This is not because we want to make more money, but because we'd be doing the client a disservice not to include it as a regular offering.
Our experience so far is that it is getting harder to separate social marketing out of the mix. The traditional tools need to feed the new platforms and vice versa. It is hard to build a Facebook Fan base without using the more traditional tools and you can't reach the 180 million people on Facebook without having a Fan Page. Twitter is slightly different but it helps to let people know you're there.
The Bottom Line is social marketing is becoming less optional.
The question is do we make it less of an option for the lion's share of our clients and include it (and its associated costs) in all of our proposals?
Would love to hear your thoughts.
Agree 100 percent. Two weeks ago when the owner of a small local deli asked me how he can get on Facebook and Twitter, and tie it into his email marketing (keep in mind this conversation is with a very small, family-owned deli shop), I came to this same conclusion.
Posted by: John Sternal | March 25, 2009 at 04:14 PM
Thanks for the post Jon. Very timely commentary. The difficulty is in educating the rest of any organization so they understand these new facets as well as the ones they have been using for so long. Then they can begin to connect the dots to see how it can all interconnect.
Posted by: johnrhopkins | March 25, 2009 at 04:38 PM
I would absolutely recommend including it in your proposals. It gives you an excellent opportunity to educate clients on the value of engaging online. What we all need to explain to our clients is people are talking about your brand, product, issue, etc, online whether you engage or not. If you do engage in the conversation, you can add your point of view and help to lead or shape (not control!) the conversation.
Some clients will still be skittish about using social media, but educating them on the benefits and taking small steps into the space can help alleviate their fears.
Posted by: Sarah | March 25, 2009 at 05:50 PM
Moreover, I think that educating clients about the dangers of social media in terms of control or the lack thereof in some cases is paramount. People think that social media is a panacea for all their problems and that is often not the case.
Posted by: Debbie Ebalobo | March 26, 2009 at 08:12 AM
Debbie, I don't think I'd frame the lack of control as a danger, more like a shift in attitude toward transparency that clients need to be educated on. I think the biggest danger for clients in social media is not being open to hearing negative feedback and also not doing the appropriate amount of research before engaging in the social media space. (Interesting article on the topic of criticism: http://www.searchengineguide.com/mack-collier/why-is-your-business-afraid-of-negative.php)
My question for people who think they are in control, what control do companies have in other types of PR? Companies can control putting out the best product possible, how they chose to lead the conversation about their product and how they respond to feedback, but definitely not people's opinions. In my opinion, the sense of control is an illusion set up by familiarity with the traditional methods of PR. You can't control what reporters write about your brand and you certainly can't control what people say or think about your brand. As PR professionals, we certainly try to shape opinions and provide relevant information, but we can't control it.
The internet has just brought to light what people were saying to each other all along through word of mouth that could not be captured in an easy, cost effective way. All the more reason to be paying attention, educating ourselves and trying to learn from social media, not being afraid of it.
Posted by: Sarah | March 26, 2009 at 09:39 AM
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