New Media, New Influencers & Implications for the Public Relations Profession

New Media, New Influencers & Implications for the Public Relations Profession Society for New Communications Research www.sncr.org Research supported by a grant from: Institute for Public Relations & Wieck Media

Research Study Overview - Assumptions
Patterns of Influence are changing
Social media, UGC, citizen journalism & new communications tools and technologies are redefining our conceptions of media & influence
Media no longer limited to traditional channels
Influence no longer only attributed to journalists, analysts, industry experts & pundits
Conversation & community is replacing static corporate messaging
Effective spokespeople & ambassadors found within & outside of organizations
Result: A profound impact on the PR profession

Research Study Overview - Goals
To conduct an examination of the current PR landscape and social media adoption to discover how organizations:
Define new influencers – criteria used
Communicate/create relationships with new influencers
Use social media and new communications to enhance their own influence
Measure the effects of their efforts
Do new influencers = new metrics?
To use these discoveries to offer a set of recommendations
to the profession

Research Study Overview - Methodology
Online survey of nearly 300 PR and marketing communications professionals
Tool used: Qualtrics
In-depth case studies collected via interviews by SNCR Fellows
Red Cross
MARC Research

Demographics of Respondents
37% - PR / marketing & communications agencies
35% - In-house PR & corporate communications
Non-profit – 13%
Large public company – 9%
Government – 9%
SMB – 3%
22% - PR & marketing communications consultants
4% - Media companies
2% - Advertising / brand marketing agencies

Demographics of Respondents Locale Response USA 70% Europe 18% Canada 4% Australia 4% South America 2% Africa 1% Asia 1%

Organizations’ Perceptions of Effectiveness of Social Media Channels
Most Effective Channels
#1 – Blogs
#2 – Online Video
#3 – Social Networks
#4 – Newsgroups/Forums
#5 – Podcasting
#6 – Wikis
#7 – Photosharing
#9 – Social Bookmarking / IM
#10 – Music sharing
#11 – Multiplayer games

The Target: Power Users
Survey targeted organizations currently using social media. Of those surveyed:
78% are using blogs
63% are using online video
56% are using social networks
49% are using podcasts
38% are using photo sharing
25% are using social bookmarking
16% are using virtual worlds
8% are using music sharing
-1% are using Twitter
-1% are using SMR
Responses based on RQ: “Which of the following online tools has your organization (or clients) used in at least one marketing communications and/or PR campaign during the last 12 months?”

Respondents’ Value of Social Media Tools to Organizations’ PR Corporate Communications & MarComm Activities

Organizations’ Top 10 Most Important Metrics for Measuring the Effectiveness of Social Media Initiatives
#1 - Enhancement of relationships with key audiences
#2 – Enhancement of reputation
#3 – Customer awareness of program
#4 – Comments/posts relevant to organization/products
#5 – Click-thrus to organization’s website
#6 – Search engine rankings for organization’s website
#7 – Search engine rankings for organization’s blog/podcasts
#8 – Unique visitors from influencers’ sites
#9 – Social media coverage
#10 – Traditional media coverage

Measurement & Metrics Answer % Yes 51% No 49% Total 100% RQ: Are you measuring the effectiveness of your overall efforts in reaching/communicating with “new influencers?”

Criteria for Determining Influence: Bloggers/Podcasters 0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 Distribution mechanism for podcast Longevity Content Syndication # of comments on blog/podcast Business/media affiliation Quoted or interviewed in traditional media Other Page visits / Site Meter metrics Frequency of posting Blog search engine rankings Name recognition Web search engine rankings Relativity of content to your company? Quality of content

Criteria for Determining Influence: Online Communities/Social Networks Demographic profile linked members Business/media affiliation Number of connections with others Name recognition Frequency of posting Participation level 0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 Participation in other communities Quoted in traditional media Demographic profile

Criteria for Evaluating Organizations’ Effectiveness in Social Media Initiatives 0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 # of trackbacks Post/comment ratio # of comments # of RSS subscribers Tenor of posts/comments Bottom line increase Incoming links Blog search engine rankings Target audience awareness # of hits/unique visitors Search engine ranking

Respondents’ Perception of Industries Most Influenced by Social Media
#1 – Arts, entertainment & recreation
#2 – Communications
#3 – Computer software
#4 – Education
#5 – Computer Hardware
#6 – Electronics
#7 – Financial Services/Banking
#8 – Automotive
#9 – Consumer Non-durables
#10 – Pharmaceuticals
#11 – Energy
#12 – Aerospace & Defense

Media Consumers’ Survey The Sample – Power Users
Survey targeted heavy consumers of social media:
92% are using blogs (as readers, authors and/or contributors) ‏
81% are using online video
73% are using IM and photo sharing
71% are using social networks and wikis
68% are using newsgroups and forums

How is social media used by the media consumer? What people consume Why they consume How they are influenced Blogs Business/Career (84%) ‏ News (53%) ‏ Hobbies (48%) ‏ Interest-specific information (84%) ‏ Entertainment (51%) ‏ Respect the writer (49%) ‏ Selecting an event (50%) ‏ Selecting a book/mag (48%) ‏ Joining an organization (34%) ‏ No influence (14%) ‏ Online Video Entertainment (77%) ‏ Business/Career (55%) ‏ News (49%) ‏ Fun/Interesting (67%) ‏ Entertainment (65%) ‏ Interest-specific information (65%) ‏ Primary news source (33%) ‏ Selecting entertainment (25%) ‏ Selecting a book/mag (18%) ‏ Selecting tech/electronics (18%) ‏ Selecting travel destination (14%) ‏ No influence (50%) ‏ Podcasts Business/Career (69%) ‏ Science/Technology (40%) ‏ News (38%) ‏ Interest-specific information (74%) ‏ Respect the producer/host (47%) ‏ Fun/Interesting (44%) ‏ Selecting a book/mag (33%) ‏ Selecting an event (26%) ‏ Public policy decision (18%) ‏ No influence (44%) ‏

Case Study: American Red Cross
Background to Social Media use
Social Media not on the radar until Katrina
Social Media Adoption Process
Hired Wendy Harman to monitor online conversations
Started using social media technologies to send info
Reports to ARC leadership
Connecting with bloggers on their blog
Facebook
Twitter
Flickr

Case Study: American Red Cross
New Influencers
Passionate about the Red Cross
Andrew Ferguson example
Social Media Success Metrics
Daily blog report
Tracking using del.icio.us
Plans for influence on structure
Public Relations Changes
New way of communicating
Faster reaction time
Increased transparency

Case Study: Mayo Clinic
Background to Social Media use
Reputation historically based on patient word-of-mouth
Social Media Adoption Process
Lee Aase, Manager media relations and new media, understood word-of-mouth as a critical component of new media and a great starting point
Mayo Clinic was producing 60 second segments for a daily radio program and their website: average 900 downloads per month, lack of ‘targeted’ marketing.
Lee saw a way to repurpose content to self-selectors
August 2005, took existing segments and placed them on iTunes: 74,000 downloads first month, increased traffic to website, continuing strong levels of downloads

New Influencers
Just beginning to identify health care bloggers and social media participants
Mayo non-public affairs staff, but only after Mayo creates guidelines, ala conversational approach
Social Media Success Metrics
Dramatic increase in visitors to website and podcast downloads resulting in increase of inquiries regarding health questions
Increased participation by MDs in more targeted podcasts

Public Relations Changes
Requires additional monitoring of Mayo brand
Increased concern regarding bad or false online medical information –Mayo staff is responding to blog posts containing wrong information, inserting their own editorial involvement on the web
Conclusion to case study: Anecdotal Story:
Woman reported after listening to a podcast, went to hospital and was told if she had waited another day, she wouldn’t have celebrated her next anniversary

The blogger
Merrill Dubrow
The company
MARC Research
Purpose
Raise awareness of company and its services;
Position CEO as thought leader;
Promote community of similar research firms
Case Study: CEO blog

Tactics
Post new entries on rigorous schedule;
Mix business and personal topics;
Invite and promote comments;
Use contests, quizzes and games;
Keep voice informal and slightly irreverent

Results
Average of 900 visitors and 47 comments per week;
Increase in speaking invitations;
Improved search results;
Better audience interaction
Improved visibility for company within research community

Recommendations for Communications Practitioners: What Matter Most?
Social media can’t just be about counting eyeballs – it needs to be about tracking engagement and discerning patterns of influence
It’s possible that it isn’t an individual that is influential but an idea – tracking the path of important ideas is also a means to map influencers

Next Steps
Collection of more case studies
Correlating data between the communications practitioners and media consumers
JNCR article
Report available Q1 ‘08
NewComm Forum session – April 2008

New Media, New Influencers & Implications for the Public Relations Profession

by Society for New Communications Research (SNCR)

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New Media, New Influencers & Implications for the Public Relations Profession Presentation Transcript