This document summarizes how mass media and social media have changed between 1999 and 2009. It discusses the rise of technologies like Blackberries, smartphones, search engines and social networking sites. It provides statistics on sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. The document then gives guidance on how organizations can utilize social media for purposes like marketing, media relations, fundraising and internal communications. It includes a glossary of common social media terms and tips for getting started on Twitter.

1. November 13, 2009 Presented to “Nuts & Bolts” Mississippi School Public Relations Association Jackson, Miss. Copyright 2009, The KARD Group

2. Speaker Information Kristie Aylett, APR The KARD Group PR/Marketing 228-826-5650 [email_address] Twitter.com/KrisTK Linkedin.com/in/KristieAylett

3. 1999 Mass media rules Faxes, pagers, memos “ You’ve got mail” Y2K on horizon Average 8 hours online/month Columbine shooting 2009 Mass media in trouble Blackberrys, smart phones Search engines Social networking Average 75 hours online/month Iran’s election It’s a Different World

4. Have things really changed? Many everyday communication tactics remain effective. News releases Newsletters Brochures Special events Magazines Bulletin boards

5. Scary “ Let’s deal with this quietly and hope it goes away.” Instant No more “magic hour” to issue statement after crisis Miracle on the Hudson (US Airways 1549) First photo uploaded to Twitter 1 minute after landing Citizen journalism -- amateur video, photos Ongoing and everywhere All day, every day, global Rumors go viral. Truth and good news doesn’t. Customers now complain online vs. calling hotline.

7. United Breaks Guitars http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo

9. Strategic Public Relations is perfectly suited for a social world, perhaps more than any other communications discipline. The outcome of good PR is good relationships. The best PR comes from paying attention to key publics, engaging them, and learning from them. Four-Step Process of Research, Planning, Implementation and Evaluation Tactics based on strategy. Strategy based on research.

10. Grunig’s Four Models of PR Press Agentry PT Barnum Celebrity stunts Public Information Government agencies, schools One-Way Asymmetrical Press releases, newsletters, static Web sites Two-Way Symmetrical Feedback, conversation

12. Customer Relationships Ongoing Communication Direct Sales Blendtec’s $50 investment resulted in 43% increase in sales in 2006. Will It Blend? Dell Outlet has sold more than $3 million in PCs and accessories as a result of Twitter messages. Customer Service @ComcastCares on Twitter – I’m sorry. How can I help? Marketing, Promotion, Contests Tiger Woods YouTube video

13. Media Relations Convergence Print, online, video, photos, blogs Newsroom layoffs Traditional media turn to social media sites for sources, ideas, buzz Online newsrooms Social Media Releases, with links to online content Google News Alerts, automated monitoring Help A Reporter Out (HARO) Free 3x daily emails of media queries

14. Fund Raising Online payment systems simplified fund raising Organizations help participants raise money through individual Web pages, e-newsletters In 2008, American Cancer Society raised $211,000 in its 4 th annual virtual Relay for Life on Second Life. Tyson Foods increases donation to food banks based on number of comments to its hunger relief blog. Target let Facebook users vote on how it divided $3 million donation among 10 organizations.

15. Employee Relationships Build community Share knowledge Intranets Virtual townhalls E-newsletters Wikis Blogs More than moms and CEOs Yammer.com = Twitter-like service for internal communications

16. Research Tools SurveyMonkey.com Technorati.com Blogpulse.com (Conversation Tracker) Alltop.com Compete.com

17. Social Networking Sites MySpace – 65 million U.S. users, average 4 hrs/month Facebook – More than 300 million active users More than 150 million log in daily Tremendous growth among older users Business pages Advertising LinkedIn – business networking, 36 million strong Ning – niche communities

18. Twitter A free micro-messaging service that limits messages to 140 characters. Tweets can be sent and received via the Web, mobile phone, text message, etc. Established March 2006 Early adopters include tech, IT, bloggers Breaking news, citizen journalism Earthquakes Miracle on the Hudson

19. Some statistics Twitter usage is spiking 1374 % jump in unique visitors in one year February 2008 = 475,000 February 2009 = 7 million April 2009 – Twitter enters mainstream @aplusk vs. @CNNBRK in race for 1 million followers Oprah signs up New users spike but most remain inactive August 2009 = 23.6 million

20. How does Twitter compare?

21. What’s Twitter good for? Communicate with key publics Members Employees Volunteers Allow members to communicate easily with you Respond quickly to service issues Receive feedback on programs, activities Drive traffic to Web site Build reputation by building relationships

22. Glossary of terms Tweet = (n) a message posted to Twitter To Tweet = (v) to post a message to Twitter Follow = to sign up to receive someone else’s updates RT = ReTweet, to forward someone else’s tweet to your own followers DM = Direct Message, a private message sent to someone who follows your updates. DM messages don’t appear on your profile or in public stream. @username = How to refer to another Tweeter. A reply message begins with @ and the username. # = Hashtag, a symbol used to simplify monitoring or searching a conversation thread (#Ida, #MSPRA)

23. Glossary of terms Favorites – Marking a tweet to preserve it Your favorites are part of your profile Shortening a URL address Bit.ly Tinyurl.com Budurl.com Auto-DMs = automatic message thanking new followers. Often causes negative reaction. Auto-tweet = automatic updates documenting new Web content, headlines, etc.

24. Getting started Sign up online at www.Twitter.com Must be linked to an email account Limited to one account per email Select a username (easy to text, easy to remember) Create a profile Avatar (photo, logo, or other image) that will appear next to your tweets Bio (brief description of account; becomes metatag) Protect your account or not To restrict access to your updates to only users you approve.

25. Finding other users “ Find people” option on main menu www.search.twitter.com www.twellow.com http://www.twellow.com/twellowhood www.wefollow.com www.nearbytweeps.com www.localtweeps.com

26. Finding other users Review profiles of users who follow the same people you do Lists allow users to categorize other users Identify hashtag that interests you and find others who follow that conversation http://wthashtag.com #journchat #MSPRA

27. Applications abound Twitpic – allows users to upload a photo and tweet the link Twitdoc – an app for documents. Upload, post link, print, track usage (Coupons, forms) TweetBeep – alerts for Twitter mentions TweetDeck – a browser to organize the conversation TweetGrid – follow conversation streams TweetChat – another way to follow multiple streams TwitterBerry – a way to tweet from a Blackberry

29. Now it’s up to you Ignore the conversation Monitor it Participate and engage Empower your employees, members, volunteers, etc. to become true ambassadors You cannot control the conversation or stop it.

30. Next step? Do some research Identify social media users among your employees Form a committee? Ask target audiences about their use of social media Which sites do they visit? What would they want to receive from you on that site? Study sites, applications to find best fits Develop social media policy for your organization Scenario: A teacher blogs about work Identify others in your industry who use social media What do you like, dislike about their approach?

31. Kristie Aylett, APR The KARD Group PR/Marketing 228-826-5650 [email_address] Twitter.com/KrisTK LinkedIn.com/in/KristieAylett Copyright 2009, The KARD Group