A social networking revolution?

Chapter 8 of PR 2.0
Reaching audiences


People today only see what they consider relevant to their own sphere - consumers decide what is newsworthy to them.   If companies want to ride the same wave as today's socially networked consumer, they need to change the way they're marketing to them.

Companies should enter social media knowing what their brand stands for and then produce social media tactics to support that.  For instance company blogs should take a stance, which will impact the brand's PR and ignite W.O.M. marketing since social media enables audiences to share more information.
Video blogging can be extremely valuable to companies and their leaders.  It ties in well with social networking since it reaches beyond a profile or blog to really grab the audience and tell them who you are in both words and in a visually dynamic medium.  A video can provide consumers with an answer to "What do you stand for?" and "Can I trust you?"  The key concept here is "people buy from people.

Social Networking & Your Brand

Social media has shifted power from the companies to the individuals—people have always wanted, but can now get things on their terms because social media is a forum for these demands.  Broadly companies need to focus on having the best products and, in particular, customer services so that their fans will be the ones creating the sites and evangelizing about their products.

Companies should take note of social networks that could intercept their brand because these connect with other people who share the same interests, however niche—so markets that were previously inaccessible can now make sense.


Identifying trends

The author identified the three biggest trends in social media as: the shift in power from brands to individuals, the move from advertising to services, and the integration of the real and virtual worlds.
Social media is an integral tool the help companies focus engaging in information-rich, two-way conversations with their customers.

Integrating real world data, such as location, direction, and even traffic conditions, has become increasingly important part of the makeup of services.  Two dimensional Internet services being supplemented by real world data to improve users' lives, which occur inevitably in three dimensions.


Moving forward

21st Century reporting and the news distribution is no longer an exclusive function of the media outlets. Direct-to-consumer newswire services, including PRWeb, focus on "media bypass." Blogs go one step beyond the profile. A blog is the best way to say, "Here's who I am and here's what I have to say." Today, people want to connect, not just to the companies they purchase their products/services from, but also connect to the people behind those companies. If the executives behind a brand are not blogging, they're losing an opportunity, especially if they want people to talk.