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Social Media Tools Take Center Stage

New social media tools—for example, blogs, twitter, and LinkedIn—are becoming de rigueur for business PR and communications executives who want to monitor and shape public opinion about their companies’ brands, products, services, reputations, etc. That was the key message conveyed by Dianna Huff on November 18, 2008, when she conducted a seminar hosted by the

Yankee IABC event at Babson College Ms. Huff (pictured in the photo on the right), a veteran B-to-B marketing communications consultant, copywriter, and irrepressible blogger urged the packed room to study “the new rules of social media” and figure out how to integrate them into overall MarCom plans and practices.

What are contemporary social media? Ms. Huff points to the Wikipedia definition: Internet- and mobile-based tools for sharing and discussing information among human beings. The salient issue for IABC members is this: be aware that more of your customers, potential customers, and purchase influencers are forming online communities and using web-based tools and channels to talk among themselves about your company, its ability or failure to deliver value, the desirability of your products or services, your employees’ competencies, etc.

Ms. Huff gave several examples that drew gasps from the audience. One involved Kenmore stoves sold by Sears. Earlier this year, stove shoppers using the web to compare product features and pricing landed on a site that offered consumer-generated product reviews. Unfortunately for Kenmore, a prominent review claimed that Kenmore stoves released toxic fumes. What was truly unforgivable, said Ms. Huff, was the lack of rebuttal or response by Kenmore.

IABC members agreed that the boundaries of the MarCom or PR job are expanding to include the realm of online social media. Ms. Huff urges us to “develop a social media ‘beat’ and be ready to respond quickly if/when we detect positive or negative posts, comments, or feedback of any kind involving our organizations.” She advises setting up Google Alerts—brand names, company names, names of top officers, keywords, etc. She also suggests that we regularly search sites such as Twitter, Technorati, etc. to ensure that misinformation or false claims about our products/services or business intentions are quickly spotted and extinguished. Finally, she provided a number of practical tips for maintaining good relationships with online journalists and bloggers.

Readers who would like more insights from Diana Huff can find her on the web at www.dhcommunications.com or read her blog www.marcom-writer-blog.com.

Diana also recommends the 2007 book by top marketing strategist David Meerman Scott, The New Rules of Marketing & PR (John Wiley & Sons). Visit www.davidmeermanscott.com for up-to-date coverage of this powerful new trend in business marketing and PR.

Thanks to Mary Driscoll, President of Dover Business Research and Consulting and an IABC member for this recap.