Whether dealing with a client, an organization, or both, there are always positives and negatives to consider. And that includes using a social media tool such as Facebook. But before I rant and rave about my own personal experience, let me talk about what I know from simple research.
On the positive side, how useful is Facebook for public relations and communications practitioners?
In the 9th installment of PR-Squared’s Social Media Tactics Series, Todd Defren points out that in the PR world, “whether you’re reaching out to bloggers, consumers or mainstream media, Facebook probably should be a consideration.” A vast number of communicators are already using the tool as a means of linking their clients with prospective consumers. Defren discusses the concept of “edgework,” or “reaching out directly to Facebook users.” He offers four practical suggestions in utilizing the tool for PR:
1. Identify appropriate user groups – a growing number of mainstream media in Toronto are on the Facebook network.
2. Before outreaching, determine how active a group is – this can be done by looking at the frequency of new-member sign-ups, discussion posts and uploads.
3. Research the group type – “Open Groups” are more often receptive to establishing a dialogue.
4. Befriend the administrators – rather than making contact with individual users, communicate your intentions to the group founders, in order to gain a more receptive welcome.
Another communications guru, Brian Solis, discusses the benefit and effectiveness of Facebook on his blog, PR 2.0. He tells us not merely who our audiences can be, but explains the different means for sharing information with those audiences:
“With social tools adapting their services to Facebook through the use of widgets , we can easily share a wealth of integrated activity including twitter, Jaiku, and Pownce for microblogging, RSS readers for sharing relevant stories, Flickr for sharing pictures, ‘video’ or kyte for adding live or packaged video, upcoming.org for sharing events, and the list goes on and on.”
So taking into consideration the potential target audiences and the tools available to reach them, Facebook could be considered ideal for promoting your own organization, clientele, and unique brand. After all, in his first interview with TIME Magazine, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said one of its purposes is to “serve the function of business networking, [and allow] people to communicate, get information and share information.” As a PR tool, it sounds great. But is it?
Is there a downside to using a social media tool, such as Facebook, for public relations?
There is the already-popular issue concerning personal privacy. I only recently learned that while Facebook users have the option of cancelling their accounts at any time, their profile information remains in storage permanently. In Rob Jewell’s blog, PR On The Run, he points out “this is going to remain an issue involving personal privacy, as marketing organizations and advertisers go to social networking sites to get the readily available personal information that we all voluntarily disclose these days.”
Now let’s talk about employment. As communicators, we value our personal reputation, because our word is our bond. To what degree do we separate our personal lives from our careers on Facebook? Employers everywhere are using it not only to assist their clients, but also to look up employment applicants. Again, it could be a potential downside.
I suppose the whole issue falls under the PR code of sending out the right key messages, and watching your words carefully. Of course even that didn’t help Ryerson engineering student Chris Avenir, who was almost expelled after creating a Facebook study group for 147 of his fellow colleagues.
And what about my own personal Facebook experience?
At the moment, I have absolutely none. Knowing there’s no permanent imprint (at least not on Facebook, and not yet) of my personal information, gives me a sense of ease. But given the rapid growth of social media, and my now-commencing career in public relations, can I afford not to have Facebook? Being out of the loop is not exactly an ideal way of practicing communications. I think I already know where I’m going with this, which means I’m going to have to get used to getting poked.
Facebook is hard to ignore as a social media tool, considering the millions of people who use it, but I think using it as a public relations tool can be very tricky. In my personal experience, when I encounter anything on Facebook that has the faintest hint of “ad”, I avoid it like the plague. I also find that, though many groups that are created on Facebook support very interesting and worthy organizations and causes, the sheer number of requests I get every day asking me to join a group or come to an event are overwhelming – I tend to just delete them without even looking.
So reaching out to administrators may be best used for not-for-profit organizations and other causes that clearly aren’t out for personal gain, but I think PR practitioners will have to work to get themselves noticed in an already very crowded forum.
Great post Mike! I don’t think Facebook is obligatory for PR practitioners or anyone in corporate/marketing/PR industry. Social media involvement is a necessity but social media does not only refer to Facebook as we are all aware. I see FB as a great tool to contact long lost friends or former employees. I prefer LinkedIn for social networking and MySpace for music promotion and networking. At the same time many companies are on the FB bandwagon and depending on your intentions FB can be a great assistance (once utilized with discretion and common sense). It’s great that you are aware of the tactics and tools for PR professionals using FB. I really don’t see the need to join FB just because everyone else is.
I will admit that things have changed since the explosion of FB..getting an actual e-mail letter is almost a similar novelty as getting a hand written letter. Now since everyone is messaging through FB, or writing on your wall, an e-mail from someone other than a cheesy forward, is quite a novelty…what a world we live in eh? Pretty soon I will be happy for just a stupid e-mail chain letter or forward.
I agree, Facebook is undeniably becoming a recent phenomena. However, it is not culture specific, but age sensitive. The age demographic on Facebook is very young. If that is your targeted clientele, maybe Facebook is a plausible untapped resource. If the original purpose of Facebook was business networking, it no longer acts under that premise. Facebook is a widespread, informal community linked by “Friends”. Public relations in a modern, rapid growing field, but one would except some lines of formality to exist. Facebook breaks down these lines. If your goal is to reach a mass of young adolescents on an impersonal, informal level, Facebook provides a great opportunity. This is unlikely in any business environment, but if you think getting poked online will move you through the public relations world, welcome to Facebook.
Hi Mike, great post. I’ve noticed a number of us (including me) linked to Defren. In response to Cheyenne’s comment, I would say it isn’t obligatory to participate heavily in Facebook, but having an account is valuable – just to gain first-hand familiarity with it.
Like Defren said Facebook should always be a consideration. He doesn’t mean you have to use it, but you should explore it and know about it.
Cass, it’s important to be critical of tools like Facebook, but you seem to be missing the point. YOU don’t “reach a mass of young adolescents on an impersonal, informal level”, you set up the conditions for a “mass of young adolescents” to reach you, discuss you and ultimately spread your message. To do that you need to have a message worth spreading, and offer value to that “mass of young adolescents.”