Consuming PR

Crisis communication is one public relations activity that is rarely implemented but always important to have in place. When a product fails, an outbreak occurs, financial crisis arises or whatever the case may be, crisis communication plans keep the peace and give direction in a time of chaos.

During major situations, crisis communication relies heavily on outsourcing PR professionals to man multiple phone lines and computers to address all questions and concerns. Now with the new wave of technology and social media, crisis communication could become less of a cost to outsource.

Using Twitter to communicate in real time while using Twitpics to show live footage of a situation allows public access in light speed. Media has the opportunity to log on to Twitter and cover a live stream of information from the source. With the addition of public replies and direct messages, journalists can ask any of their questions – in less than 140 characters, of course.

“Thanks to the Internet and social media applications, such as blogs, Facebook and Twitter, the public is able to seek and share information quickly during a health or safety crisis,” said Keri Stephens, assistant professor of communication studies at The University of Texas at Austin.

“Emotions are high during a crisis and people find comfort in information—regardless of the quality of that information,” said Stephens. “The swine flu situation was an example of this. Thousands of people turned to Twitter to query each other and share news of the latest developments in Mexico and the U.S. Twitter status updates ranged from ‘Could it be germ warfare?’ to ‘Don’t eat pork from Mexico.’ Fortunately, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did a good job of communicating quickly and clearly.”

With the use of iPhones and Blackberry phones, public relations professionals can be anywhere at anytime covering any situation and sharing it with their audiences simultaneously in a concise manner. Media consumers are so sick of biased journalists with added fluff. People are yearning for those 140-character messages and turning away from print and broadcast media.

Zappos.com isn’t just offering shoes anymore. Recently, the online retail Web site expanded to fashion, beauty and home decor. The company is kicking off these additions in celebration of Mother’s Day by offering free shipping and even free overnight upgrades with a 365-day return policy.

Searching for new avenues and opportunities is a perfect example of evolving with the economy. Rather than keeping to one single product, Zappos is offering more to their already loyal customers and giving potential customers a new opportunity to shop with their company.

It’s important as public relations professionals to look outside the box and take off the blinders. Offering new business ideas and new opportunities will improve your clients bottom line while contributing to job security.

Social media is the best tool to effectively communicate messages in the shortest amount of time, but it can be difficult to directly generate revenue. Measuring the success of a social media campaign can take some time and is very subjective. Of course, social media tools are free to use and need little to no investment, but wouldn’t it be wonderful to make a profit?

Advertising is one way to generate a return on investment, although, as PR professionals know, word of mouth marketing is more effective than placing an advertisement. So, how does one generate revenue and measure the success from disseminating messages through social media?

It’s simple, communicate exclusive deals and information to your followers, fans and readers. Give your audience an incentive to frequent the social media sites while opening shop online. In addition to creating an editorial calendar and tweeting the most up-to-date company news, brainstorm special offers and sales exclusive to online viewers.

The best way to measure the success of your social media campaign is to give the exclusive offers a significant promotional code. For example, tell your audience to mention a key word in order to redeem the special offer. Track every time a customer uses this promotional code and vuala! You will soon be able to measure the ROI on your social media campaign through the revenue it has generated.

Once a company has created a blog, Twitter account and Facebook page, the question of measuring the return on investment becomes of utmost interest. Your boss has only one thing in mind and that is making money, so be conscious of your ROI measurement.