Social media is still new and poses risks, so organizations should not rush into it. Instead, they should integrate social media thoughtfully into their overall communications strategy. An effective strategy focuses on building quality content, being transparent, understanding audiences on various social platforms, and using analytics to improve over time. While social media fast-paced, it provides opportunities for two-way engagement if used to facilitate discussion rather than just broadcast messages.

1. Social media is too new for us,we can't take risksStuart Bruce MCIPR

2. Blogging – seven years today Started PR blog on July 8, 2003 One of the first 10 in the world Started UK’s third political blog April 24, 2003 – first by a councillor

3. History of the social web Email lists BBS - bulletin board systems – late 70s Commercial online services – CompuServe – 1979 Usenet newsgroups – 1979 IRC – internet relay chat – 1988 Internet forums Weblog 1997 – Blogger - 1999 Social networks / media sharing SixDegrees 1997 | Friendster 2002 | MySpace 2004 | YouTube 2005 | Facebook 2006 | Twitter 2006 All from Wikipedia so don’t blame me if they are wrong, you can’t expect me to know all these dates!

4. Grunig and Hunt One way asymmetrical Two-way symmetrical Uses persuasion and manipulation to influence audience to behave as the organisation desires. Uses communication to negotiate with publics, resolve conflict, and promote mutual understanding and respect between the organisation and its public(s).

5. You need great content Shakespeare Hans Christian Anderson Aesop

6. … but you’ve got to tell the truth

7. Convincing the CEO "Why would any person want to use this ungainly and impractical device when he can send a messenger to a local telegraph office and have a clear written message sent to any large city in the United States?“ From the report to the President of Western Union written by the committee charged with investigating potential purchase of Bell's telephone patent for $100,000 http://www.telephonetribute.com/telephonetrivia.html

8. One good question… Are your prospects, customers, stakeholders or competitors active on social media? Some of your stakeholders ARE, and the rest probably are as well!

9. Who knows what ROI means? Return On Investment is the ratio of money gained or lost (whether realised or unrealised) on an investment relative to the amount of money invested

10. What’s the freaking ROI? http://www.webinknow.com/2010/01/roi-rant.html

11. Have a communications objective “Your media and comms work was brilliant” Alan Johnson MP, former Home Secretary

12. Bad pitches will out

13. … but bad pitches never worked!

14. Modernised media relations

15. New media landscape Declining print and TV audiences Growing online audiences Mainstream media must change or die None have the ‘golden egg’ Search delivers 40% of traffic Third of visits to ‘news’ content more than three months old

16. What does it mean for us? Multimedia = new content Speed = constant Two-way = community Analytics = more focussed Search = new writing style

17. What should we do? Practice what we preach – PUBLIC RELATIONS Become data driven using analytics and search More open, less controlled New types of content Closer relationships via social media New ways of distribution Use new media to ‘accelerate’ traditional media

18. Social media newsroom Visitors a week 5-20 before 2,400+ after

19. Crowd sourcing …the wisdom of the crowd solves everything…

20. Crowd sourcing We crowd source everything… …because we don’t have any ideas … and we don’t give a damn!

21. Say no to a social media strategy … and yes to integrating social media into your corporate communications strategy

22. Six word social media strategy THINK BIG START small ACT NOW

23. Any questions? Stuart Bruce www.stuartbruce.biz 0845 838 7282 www.wolfstarconsultancy.com @stuartbruce Winner Best Use of Social Media 2009 Chartered Institute of Public Relations President’s Grand Prix Award