As any 21^st century PR practitioner will tell you, social media communications has taken on a role of greater importance when developing a comprehensive communications plan for your organization. But remember, establishing a social media presence means opening yourself up to potential attacks, warranted or not, from consumers who want their voices to be heard. To prepare yourself for this eventuality, you must develop a sound social media strategy comprising a careful mix of fact finding, message creation and strategic communication.

The new reality of an always-online, hyper-connected world is that there has been a major shift in how we help companies communicate with consumers. Blogger engagement and Facebook and Twitter strategies are no longer “nice to haves.” They’re absolutes! Three years ago, our proactive efforts primarily involved developing comprehensive communications programs that helped clients demonstrate their business actions to a core group of loyal consumers. We were able to create focused programs and engagement tactics that could be shared with stakeholders and media by following a planned schedule. Although that process still underlies the foundation of any solid communications platform, today it is critical to supplement it with a strategic and deliberate social media communications plan with a broader consumer focus.

It is important to take your time when crafting your online and social media plan. The best communications plans are structured to be implemented in a moment’s notice. And when done poorly, they can seriously damage your reputation almost overnight. Years of solid thinking and reams of messaging can easily be overtaken by scrambled, reactive efforts - often against attacks waged by just a few individuals with limited knowledge on the topic they’re vilifying.

So, what to do, and what not to do? There are a few critical things that must happen, especially when dealing with a consumer crisis:

Do:

• Monitor, monitor, monitor. It’s not enough just to be there. You must know what’s happening in your social media space.
• Respond, respond, respond - and quickly. The vast majority of online attackers can be easily educated and quickly appeased, and in some cases, might even become surprising allies. Ignoring commentary is the quickest way to start a firestorm, and responding fast can literally stop it in its tracks.
• Have a few clear key messages to reference. Keep messages factual and as objective as possible. Engaging in an online attack is not the time to “market” to the attacker.
  

Don’t:

• Ignore the comments. You don’t have to respond to everything, but when you see an opportunity to set the record straight, do so, and fast.
• Respond with the same message over and over again. Online communication should be authentic and come from a personalized “voice.”
• Patronize or antagonize. Be polite and respectful, but remain strong and confident.
• Shut down your Facebook page or Twitter handle. That will move the conversation into forums you can’t easily control.
  

Online engagement is an exciting opportunity to have a person-to-person dialogue in real time. With a solid online and social media communications strategy in place, you will be prepared for anything that comes your way, and more often than not, will come out on top.

--Lisen Syp, Senior Account Supervisor

Anyone living in the Northeast during the last month knows it was a month of non-stop rain reaching unprecedented proportions. Two storms brought record amounts of rain and flooding within weeks of each other, dumping water that not only flooded basements but brought heart-breaking destruction to New England.

So how does this natural disaster bring to mind a public/private community relations case study? In my opinion, it does in the form of an unlikely community relations hero – The Boston Duck Tours Company.

The best public/private community relations efforts are exemplified when a company creatively uses its resources to help those around it versus solely throwing money at a particular situation. During the last two storms, the Boston Duck Tours Company did exactly that.

Iconic to Boston since they were introduced in 1994, the amphibious boats (first used in World War II) have long shuttled tourists and Bostonians through the historic streets of the city only to then plunge into the waters of the Charles River. They have become so synonymous with the city that even the Celtics rode the boats during their 2008 victory parade down Boylston Street.

So how did Duck Boats become the community hero during the storm of the century? As the waters were rising around homes, and the desperate request for help came from trapped area residents during both storms, the Boston Duck Tours Company answered the call-to-action and used its vehicles to reach and rescue trapped residents.

The simplicity and purity of this action by Boston Duck Tours Company is the gold standard of what the true meaning of “community relations” is all about. Making this action even more powerful, this small company did this for the right reason – to help the community that supports its business.

Spring is here, the weather is getting better and tourists are coming back to the city. Maybe it’s time to say thank you by taking a ride on the Boston Duck Tour!

--Mark Malinowski, Vice President

When it comes to embarking on a media relations campaign and generating valuable coverage, I’m still surprised at how many in our profession prioritize their efforts and approach. I don’t know many folks who don’t consider themselves, or aspire to be, STRATEGIC.

Why is it, then, that too often strategy ends up on the cutting room floor?

• Focused media lists evolve into list with 500 contacts
• Quality coverage is sacrificed for quantity
• Coverage in a “cool” outlet becomes more important than coverage in the right outlet
• Speed is valued above thoughtful research and knowledge of the outlet and reporter
• Desperation for any result defeats dogged determination to get the big win
  

Sound familiar? It’s almost always the result of setting unrealistic expectations about impressions and coverage volume – sometimes by the client, sometimes by the agency and sometimes by both. Regardless of the reasons, we all feel the pressure to deliver results.

Sure, the media environment has changed. Non-traditional media play a more significant role, true “beats” have largely disappeared and the competition for coverage is fiercer than ever. But the basic tenets remain the same:

• Identify the business objective
• Define your audience(s)
• Solidify the message(s)
• Determine the best venues for reaching those audiences
  

Perhaps most importantly, though, make sure everyone – the client, stakeholders and the agency team – is aligned on the expectations. Collaborate on what success looks like, create a plan that maps to that success and then faithfully execute it. But be flexible and adapt to the situation. If something isn’t working, don’t toss away the strategy and just throw a bunch of stuff up against the wall to see what sticks. Think about new and creative ways to reach your goals.

The bottom line is we all want to be valued partners and counselors to our clients. And that sometimes means having courageous conversations about strategy, activation and results.
It can be uncomfortable, but we owe it to ourselves and our clients to ask the tough questions – “What’s important to you, quantity or quality?” – and give the unpopular opinions – “Oprah just isn’t going to care about this story.” Remember, be respectful and provide a rationale. They may not agree, but at least they’ll respect you.

--Marc Berliner, Vice President

Where would Susan G. Komen For the Cure be without the month of October or a pink ribbon? Where would Livestrong be without Lance Armstrong and a yellow bracelet? When it comes to branding, it turns out nonprofits and for-profits aren’t so different – at least in the eyes of the consumer. Whether the dollar goes to the beneficiary or the bottom line, a recognizable brand image is a powerful tool in a marketer’s tool kit.

Our 2009 Cone Nonprofit Power Brand 100 demonstrated that nonprofits who take a for-profit approach to brand management can reap the benefits of additional awareness and increased revenue. So, it shouldn’t surprise you that six of the top 10 nonprofit brands were also top 10 revenue earners. And, our latest research proves nonprofits can use the same principles of branding their own organizations to brand their causes, too. According to our recently released 2010 Cone Nonprofit Marketing Trend Tracker, traditional marketing elements, such as an association with a special event or time period, a memorable color, logo or icon or the involvement of a celebrity or other notable spokesperson, help nonprofit causes stand out in the minds of American consumers.

What else can nonprofits do to ensure their causes break through? Check out our sister blog, “What Do You Stand For?” for more insights. In the meantime, we want to hear from you. What are your favorite examples of a nonprofit that has done a good job branding its cause? What were the marketing factors that left an impression?

Disclosure vs. Style
No one wants to be the one who is made an “example” by the FTC - bloggers, brands and agencies included. However, the gray areas left by the FTC disclosure guidelines have many nervous. The truth of the matter is that if you are a blogger, brand or agency, and you already maintain a high standard of transparency, you are most likely covered. That means that giant red disclosure image you have on your blog, or are requiring bloggers to use, is the worst kind of unnecessary.

Image credit: LouisGray.com

Each blogger, influencer or online media maker has his or her own style, and it would be a real travesty if he or she ever had to alter that style to adhere to a set of government guidelines. Disclosing the blogger-brand relationships within the prose of a blog post or the dialog of a podcast effectively safeguards all parties involved in the eyes of the FTC. It also allows online media makers to keep their style as well as maintain an honest and enjoyable relationship with their readers.

The Elephant in the Room

So what if you are limited to, let’s say, 140 characters when telling your readers about a post in which you review or discuss a product that was provided to you by a brand?

This very tough question really has no good answer yet. The best Twitter solution presented so far has been to add a hashtag to a status update. WOMMA has a suggested list of different tags to explain different relationships. They include:

• #spon (sponsored)
• #paid (paid)
• #samp (sample)

An alternative would be to use the tag (client). This tag is used to disclose a relationship between a brand/company and the person tweeting.

Where do you stand when it comes to style vs. disclosure? As a blogger, do you feel you have had to change your style in regard to the FTC guidelines? Is there a good solution when it comes to using Twitter? We’d like to hear from you.