(Image credit: Bobby's Blog)
I follow several excellent public relations professionals on Twitter and Facebook. It never ceases to amaze me how much these people share with the larger community. For example, Todd Defren at Shift and his blog PR Squared provides thought leadership from an agency's perspective. My friend Barbara Nixon teaches PR at Georgia Southern and writes a blog that should be any PR student's online bible. Always relevant and timely, Peter Himler keeps me in touch with what's going on in the Big City.
What do these folks have in common? They've mastered the art of using social media to point people to their online content. This is the best use of social media in PR.
So if these accomplished professionals are doing this for themselves, all PR professionals need to learn from this playbook. Social media is an AMPLIFIER of your message. It is not THE MESSAGE.
Every time I speak with groups of PR professionals, I get sheepish admissions. They seem compelled to tell me where they are at, mentally, with social media. Here are a few of my favorites:
- I don't have anything to say
- I don't have time for this
- My company blocks social media sites
- My clients don't pay attention to social media
- I am not allowed to express my personal opinion
Ok, fine. Not everyone can spend time blogging or updating Facebook or Twitter all day. I get that. But that is not what some of the most successful people in the space are doing. They're successful because they see social media as a long-term reality. They also publish original thinking and content. They share their own experiences. They tell stories.
Our job is to tell stories. If we can't tell our own, why should someone hire us to tell theirs?
Please follow @peterhimler, @tdefren and @barbaranixon and tell them I sent you. And stop making excuses.
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