Another panel about the death of something. I am exhausted with the old versus new media debates. It is what it is and communications should now be integrated with common goal and strategy. Period.
- Karly Hand – Karly Hand
- Erin Portman – Erin Portman PR
- Brian Solis – PR 2.0
- Peter Shankman – HARO
Take-aways:
- Talent and resources will keep agencies alive.
- Gatekeeper control mentality will die.
- Cannot apply old-school methodology to social media tools.
- Drive what it is you want to measure; design around a destination.
- Every conversation requires a unique response, so build/train ambassadors to answer scalability issue.
- Traditional media is still valued, but you must adopt.
- PR job is redefined: Go with flow and build on being a central hub, traffic cop and curate the greatest focus group.
- Build new types of programs and services; sell blogger relations; shift/steer messages in social media platforms.
- Don’t be afraid to build internal (corporate) community management because outsourcing does not always work.
- Learn how to swim and where you are swimming to before you jump into the water.
Additional Reading:
- Rebecca Caroe, Creative Agency Secrets: posted transcript of this session.
- Valeria Maltoni, Conversation Agent: Changing Role of PR
- Valeria asks the most important question (in my humble opinion): A big question that still remains open is why are many clients so afraid of budgeting a social media strategy? And on the other side, why do PR practitioners have to characterize social media as little or low cost?
