Time to get 'Linked In'

With nearly hundreds of different online social media tools to choose from it is important for PR practitioners to choose applications that will most benefit their company or organization’s needs.

Online social media has introduced new and exciting ways for people to connect, build, and maintain relationships. So it is in a PR practitioner’s best interest to join the networks that would grant them the best access to their publics.

So in High Fidelity style here they are, the top 5 online services PR professionals should be using:

1) Twitter

Twitter is a simple way to inform your publics of current news and events from your organization. Twitter has become extremely popular because of its human factor. With only 140 characters you can connect with your “followers” on a personal level. PR practitioners can use Twitter to quickly answer questions, complaints, or concerns that their publics may have.

2) Facebook

Facebook started out as a college networking system has expanded into a social networking site for adults and now businesses. Because Facebook already has millions of users, creating a ‘page’ for your business will give it access to those users. PR practitioners can use this tool to hold contests and offer new promotions.

3) Wordpress

Wordpress is one of the many blogging applications available now. Wordpress, or any blogging site, is a great way to for a company to connect to its internal and external publics.

4) flickr

flickr is a video and photo sharing website is a great way to help a company allow its publics to be interactive. PR practitioners can use this tool to give the company’s publics the opportunity to share images and videos they have as well as see how it interacts with other publics.

5) Delicious

is a social book marking web service that is growing more and more popular. This site allows users access to their bookmarks regardless of what computer they are using as well as share those bookmarks with their networks. PR practitioners should use this application to bookmark company media and to monitor what their publics are finding interesting.


Regardless of the application choice, it is becoming extremely important for businesses and organizations to use these social media outlets. Each tweet, post, or picture is a way to interact with a public and to connect with it on a human level.

The links are there, there's really no excuse not to jump on the bandwagon now.

^d

Katie Keane

always wear sunscreen

How a company reacts during a crisis will determine how long the issue will carry on and how much harm or benefit it will cause.

Although PR practitioners don’t “solve” crises, they do play an important role in conveying information on how organizations are solving the crises. There are several things a PR practitioner can do to help solve the crises and prevent further damage. Some of the more important factors include:

1. Plan

Before a crisis even hits, companies should have a clear and defined plan. The plan should include:

• Who is in charge- a chain of command that dictates what responsibility belongs to whom.
• Who has the information- Create a list of the types of information needed and where it will have been stored in anticipation of a crisis.
• Who will speak on behalf of the organization- Designating a single spokesperson can help to avoid confusion and mistakes when it comes to speaking to the media. The spokesperson should be knowledgeable, composed, careful with words, and confident.
• Prepare a website-Create a “dark site" that can be launched at any time. Post to the site information the company’s publics would find important and interesting.

2. Promptly inform ALL publics

• The media will want all the facts and numbers right away. Give them whatever you may have at the time and tell them you will report back with updates as soon as more information becomes available.
• The employees should not be forgotten in the time of a crisis. They can be a company’s best line of defense and/or offense. Keeping employees informed will keep them from speculating and spreading rumors.

3. Be accessible

• Although one’s first reaction in a crisis is to run and hide, keeping the media in the dark will only add fuel to the fire. Between a company’s spokesperson and dark site information should be streaming throughout the entire crisis. Accessibility can help to cut down rumor mills that might get started through all the different social networks out there today.

Companies never look forward to a time of crisis. However, when they do occur and a company reacts well, it can come out of the crisis looking better than before the incident occurred.

By following the three steps I outlined above, a company will build trust and a positive reputation with the media, its employees, and its audience.

To build a strong, stable, and positive reputation a company must be strong, stable and positive even during the most critical of times.

^d

Katie Keane