The document discusses the evolving field of strategic communications and how practitioners must regularly reassess their practices to keep up with changing technologies and expectations. It notes that strategic communicators now operate in a world of real-time communication across multiple social media platforms. Both established practices and new skills are needed, including social media engagement, storytelling, and community building. Moving forward, strategic communicators must focus on speed, agility and understanding real-time conversations while building trust and relationships through relevant, timely messaging.

1. Karen Freberg, Ph.D.

2. L O U I S V I L L E . E D U
Agenda for Presentation
• The field of strategic communications
continues to play an essential and changing
role in society, requiring the regular
reassessment of the education of future
practitioners.
• The demands of the current economy and the
ever-changing digital environment are
challenging practitioners and scholars to
constantly evolve their research and practices
in the discipline to meet the expectations of
their stakeholders.
• This presentation will discuss the past,
present, and future practices involving social
media and emerging technologies for strategic
communicators.

3. L O U I S V I L L E . E D U
Status of Strategic Communication
• Real-time communication and interaction
• Mobile poly social realities across multiple
platforms
• Age cohort differences among channels
• Brand & individual storytelling
• 24/7 connected and digital global society
• More memes & trends emerge every day on
social media
• Brands jump on board with these trends to
be competitive
• Harder to engage audiences, capture
attention, and create memorable content in
real-time.

5. L O U I S V I L L E . E D U
reporters technology
1750s
1920s
1960s
public
advertising
word
of
mouth
pr
“Old” Strategic Comm practices

6. L O U I S V I L L E . E D U
“New” StratComm practices
reporters pr, advertising, social insiders social public

7. L O U I S V I L L E . E D U
Where we are now in 2013

8. L O U I S V I L L E . E D U
From Edelman Digital

9. L O U I S V I L L E . E D U
What continues to be the same
• Objectives
• Environmental Scanning
• Audiences
• Influence and Persuasive Messages
• Integrated and Interactive Conversations
• Multiplatform and multimedia
• Measurement and evaluation

12. L O U I S V I L L E . E D U
Moving forward
• The fundamental challenge for most organizations is that
social media is one environment where
– messages work on a one-to-many, one-to-some, and one-
to-one scale across multiple technologies at the same
time in real time,

13. L O U I S V I L L E . E D U
• Emergence of social engagement
– Continuous set of exchanges where each party is the
participant in the conversation and relationship.
– Helps build trust, credibility, and establishes a positive
reputation on the behalf of the brand or organization in
question.
– Engagements have to be relevant, timely, and be
personable for audience & community
Attention [short-term] + Sustainable storytelling
practices [long-term] =SUCCESS

14. BRAND
REPUTATION
LOYALTY
ENGAGEMENT
STORY
INNOVATION
RELATIONSHIP
COMMUNITY:
AMBASSADORS
& EMBASSIES

15. L O U I S V I L L E . E D U
Key opportunity

18. L O U I S V I L L E . E D U
Points to consider
• Real time strategic
communications focuses on
– Speed & Agility
– Compressing time to tie in brand
with news (newsjacking)
– Growing need to understand
power of real-time information
(ex. monitoring trends, issues,
conversations, mentions, etc)
– Engaging participation from
spectators & translate them into
supporters.

19. Real time
marketing
Engagement
Customer
Service
Storytelling
Product
Development
Social Media
Platform
Reputation
Training

22. L O U I S V I L L E . E D U
Real-time marketing
• Real-time marketing means
reacting in real, or near-real
time.
• It’s about relevant messaging
in the right platform at the
right time.
– This can be achieved in
social media by listening and
anticipating customer needs.

23. VISUAL
+
REAL-TIME
+
MEMORABLE
+
COMMUNITY
+
STORY

24. L O U I S V I L L E . E D U
Best practices
• Determine if audiences want
information in visual and
multimedia formats.
• Engage with community and share
options through other social media
platforms and communities
• Be consistent and timely with
updates in multimedia – as well as
measurement.

25. L O U I S V I L L E . E D U
• Consider building and managing communities in real
time, focus on analytics, and create/curate creative
content that’s relevant and relatable to audiences.
• Consider multimedia outlets an extension to online
reputation for brand or individual
• Keep future trends in mind and determine what is the
next step for social media.
• Engage, Inform, Inspire, and be relevant.