***Just to satisfy my curiosity, I would really appreciate it if, if you reuse this slide, you could tell me what it was used for in the comments section. Thanks!*** A case study of the work undertaken by UK regional newspaper the Birmingham Post to engage on social networking platforms and help foster relations with its local online community.

1. Social Networks a regional newspaper case study Joanna Geary February 2009 Picture by Luc Legay, licensed under Creative Commons: http://flickr.com/photos/luc/

4. Why Are Social Networks Important? “ Dramatic Shift in Marketing Reality” Scholz and Friends http://cli.gs/Scholz

5. A Changing Market “ Because they are immersed in media, both online and off, Gen Y'ers are marketed to left and right. But when it comes to making decisions, Gen Y tends to rely on their network of friends and their recommendations, not traditional ads.” ~ Sarah Perez , Read Write Web ( http://cli.gs/GenY)

6. A Right To Be Heard

7. A Right To Be Heard

8. Who Controls the Message? “ If you wish to be heard, first learn to listen.”

9. Newspapers - Do We Listen? Picture by Cesara Studillo, licensed under Creative Commons: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cesarastudillo

10. Brand Perception Problem?

11. The Birmingham Post January 2008

12. The Birmingham Post January 2009

13. The Birmingham Post It started with laminate flooring…

14. The Birmingham Post … followed by a huge helping of panic…

15. The Birmingham Post … but quickly turned into a successful crowd sourcing project.

16. The Birmingham Post The discovery of community

17. The Birmingham Post Blog Network

18. The Birmingham Post Community Consultation

19. The Birmingham Post Using online tools to extend presence

20. The Birmingham Post Engagement

21. “ Organizations will work tirelessly to de-personalize every communication medium they encounter.” ~ Seth Godin (http://sethgodin.typepad.com) First Law of Mass Media

22. The Birmingham Post Putting the personal back in

23. The Birmingham Post The result?

24. The Birmingham Post Feedback

25. The Birmingham Post Trust building

26. The Birmingham Post

27. The Birmingham Post Seen to be listening

28. The Birmingham Post Turning public critics into public fans

29. The Birmingham Post Building presence on social networks when it makes sense

30. The Birmingham Post Add Value

31. The Birmingham Post Community building pays off

32. The Birmingham Post

33. The Birmingham Post

35. The Birmingham Post But it’s not always an easy ride

41. PR Tips It has been done!

43. PR Tips “ My experience is that if a journalist is doing research on a board they identify themselves and ask if they can contact some of the posters…” Respect the community Always operate from their point of view

44. PR Tips Remember who your audience might be

45. PR Tips

46. PR Tips DO NOT SPAM!

47. Any Questions ? Picture by Luc Legay, licensed under Creative Commons: http://flickr.com/photos/luc/ [email_address] http://twitter.com/joannageary http://joannageary.com

48. Thanks! Picture by Luc Legay, licensed under Creative Commons: http://flickr.com/photos/luc/ [email_address] http://twitter.com/joannageary http://joannageary.com