Why has social networking and other social media meant PR strategies need to change?
Very simply, because the dynamics of social networking are horizontal, even bottom up. That is very new for the PR and marketing industry, which has long been accustomed to a vertical, top-down dynamic where they created and crafted messages and “broadcast” them to target groups or the public at large. That old “mass” model (mass media/mass marketing) has been completely turned on its head, because people can communicate and share information ‘socially’. Online social networks are horizontal and have no barriers to entry. This represents a serious challenge, indeed threat, to traditional PR and marketing models based on exercising gatekeeper power over information flows. That old game is over. Q2. What is your top tip for using social networks with brand PR? My top tip is the most obvious one: communicating on social media has to be ‘authentic’. Everybody knows this, but few PR and marketing professionals actually achieve it. Online social interaction is essentially about ‘sharing’, no
