Social Media

With the popularity and use of social media tools and platforms injected into our day-to-day communications practices, Environics Communications continues to tap into developments that spark conversations with consumers and other online influencers. And as the trusted stewards of our clients' brand reputations, public relations practitioners are best equipped to understand and navigate this new frontier.

The reality is that social media is not any one thing, website, tactic, network or technology. By definition, it is media that is social in nature: any kind of content that can be shared, discussed, commented upon, and aggregated.

Social media is spreadable media. A recipient can help shape and pass along content. Twitter, a viral video, an e-mail thread, Facebook, a company blog: all of these are examples of social media that have evolved out of an explosion in popularity of technology-supported word-of-mouth.

For Environics Communications' clients, the power of social media enables companies to share and directly connect with audiences more personally and relevantly. Getting started is simple, and begins with three basic steps:

• Understand your audience
• Recognize their online needs
• Build a lasting relationship

Like any good communications program, the key is knowing and understanding your audience. How much time do they spend online? Do they use online for information or connection? At the beginning of any program, we always recommend consulting with a set of your target audience to understand which of these media they know about, use and are comfortable with, and then designing a program from there.

Have excellent content: Like any good communications program, the key to social media is excellent content. Understanding what type of content attracts your audience is a more important exercise when it comes to social media tactics; the dissemination itself can be based on what your audience tells you.

Think long-term, not campaign: Remember that social media programs build a relationship with your audience – an ongoing relationship that requires regular care and feeding, much like a garden. If you aren't willing to tend in order for the community to flourish, social media may not be a tactic that works for your organization.

In the social media arena, creativity does not trump content. Employing web-based tools and tactics into day-to-day communications practices should be done so to inform online audiences, not just designed to entertain. Remember, there is no one-size-fits-all social media program, and the critical elements of good communication still need to be in place for a successful social media program to take flight.

Building social media into your overall communications program is easier that you might think. In fact, the greatest social media risk that we currently see is not taking part in the online dialogue.

Sitting on the sidelines is no longer an option.