Last week I presented at the Victorian Branch of the IABC (International Association of Business Communicators). Thanks to Dr Jennifer Frahm for inviting me, sight unseen, to speak. Onstage after Ross Monaghan from Deakin University and The Media Pod was a tough gig. Therefore, it was time to flip the controversial switch.
A premise that I articulated was that “online, people smell the fake†– and from questions and comments during Ross’ presentation, this is of major concern to PR professionals.
How do organisations communicate both internally and externally in a PR-spin weary world?
To respond to this, I described an emerging job role: “digital community specialist". Nothing new here; the idea stems from Laurel Papworth’s work over the last 15 years. What is new is that PR’s audience is quicklu shifting to online/digital mediums (ref: ACMA Report 2006/7). People online can and will invoke the nuclear option (ref: Mark Pesce) And this is a normal part of their lives. Online is as real as offline. (ref: danah boyd’s research)
Organisation can and must use social networks to engage stakeholders. Not using than use “fake names†or “brand namesâ€, No astroturfing nor sockpuppeting. Just as people use online networks to connect with their friends, organisations can use social networks to make connections.
People connect with other people. One role of the new PR is to hire/foster real employees to act on behalf of the organisation online. Do not outsource this important role. My suggestion is to find a star in the internal sales team, customer service team. An individual who is already online out of hours, who also understands the foibles of your organisation.
Empower your new ambassadors with the freedom to connect, act honestly, and tell the truth. Provide tools to permit them to right the wrongs that all organisations do.
The role of the new PR is to manage the image these new digital diplomats. Be their internal champions and measure their work.
Release your best ambassadors into the digital world.
Completely agree Nick. Was talking to Gerry McCusker of PR Disasters last week and said I thought this was the most exciting time to be in PR in 20 years. Cheers, Paul
Nice piece Nick – and well referenced too.
I am sick of hearing agencies talk about how they can help companies spin the same old broadcast messages but now in web 2.0. Businesses need to wake up to the fact that it’s a changed world and digital natives now require them to make fundamental structural and cultural changes – which empower many more of their employees to prepresent their brand in all the communities they naturally participate in.
What does this mean in real life? How about putting new employees through a 5 week induction program and then offering them $1,000 to quit? That sort of approach gets you much closer to having over 800 of your staff available on twitter to help customers.
I’m talking about http://www.zappos.com/about.zhtml. And if you think it’s all marketing spin – an email to the CEO last week resulted in a personal response within 3 hours and their culture book just arrived by UPS today. Impressive.