As the discussion of the use of social media in our field continues, a recent article on Ulitzer caught my attention with more commentary on exactly how social media strategies fit into the work we do on behalf of our clients. The article describes how social media further blurs the lines between traditional PR and marketing with a “push vs. pull” analogy. Where traditional programs are centered around pushing the news out to media in an effort to influence our clients’ customer base – social media strategies rely on the successful engagement of end users, potential customers and industry influencers by pulling them into these communities. I’d take this one step further, given sometimes we have to give a little push to certain clients in order to pull them into the world of social media.
Social media presents the opportunity to stretch as professionals into new mediums and makes us look long and hard at the messages we are getting out there – are they significant and clear? I think this makes our job all the more exciting – with opportunities to participate in conversations (be them via Facebook, Twitter, etc.), we have many more ways in which to not only get the story out, but get real-time, honest feedback from an ever growing number of people.