The new rules of PR 2.0, something this week’s moderator Brian Solis spends a lot of time with. Public Relations pros have built their careers being the voice BEHIND the Brand. Then comes the soci
al web. With the social web, a new age of public relations “faces” are appearing from all over within companies. Starting their own blogs, taking to Twitter to streamline customer help issues or using Facebook to sell product, these social pioneers are re-defining “Public Relations” in its traditional sense. They are coming from customer service, product management, research, operations and even the cleaning crew. This new age of PR pros are taking a different approach from their brethren of past, they are now out in FRONT of the Brand.
Being in front of the Brand is changing the dynamics of what PR is and does. Think about this:
- When you are pushing your message to the public, it creates a sense of trust. “I don’t have any reason not to believe your soup is now lower in sodium and therefore better for my health, Right?”
- It’s not until you engage with that consumer and create a cycle of communication that you begin to get a sense of ownership. “Hey girlfriends, Joe from Soup Co tweeted me with about a new recipe and asked if they should use grilled chicken or roasted for their New & Improved soup coming out next month. We all need to try it”
The difference between old PR and marketing and the new age of PR is significant. It’s taking the broad messaging back to micro-messaging looking to build their following one happy customer at a time. So what’s the downside to the new rules of PR 2.0? Do you gain trust if Susie from marketing is talking to you about the recent drug interactions of your new Pharmaceutical instead of the research PR messaging? It probably depends where the message is coming from and the sincerity of it that helps to align your feelings of the Brand and where you trust that Brand in the perspective of your family.
So that’s the topic this week, aligning the personalities of your brand and your new breed of “PR” pros. Carrying the discussion this week is Brian Solis who has been at the head of this discussion since the mid 1990’s. He is one of the leading voices in this field and will certainly add his share of nuggets into this conversation.
Aligning the Brand Personality with the Personality of the Individual Representing the Brand
Q1: Who do you trust more? How do you know when the brand is talking or when the person behind the brand is?
Q2: What happens when the personal Brands become larger than the Brand they represent? How does that affect your loyalty in the brand?
Q3: Are you more apt to engage in a relationship with the brand, based on the person behind the brand? If that person leaves, do you leave to?
Be sure to join us this Tuesday 9/29 at 12 noon EST for the last #socialmedia event of September. Either follow #socialmedia on your favorite Twitter client or follow our Live page for a filtered feed of the conversation.
The explosion of consumer networks like Facebook, MySpace & LinkedIn and digital platforms such as Twitter, blogs, forums and other types of social media continue their expansion across the internet at breakneck pace. With the proliferation of these networks, consumers have almost unlimited means by which to share their brand experiences and opinions. These opinions, whether good or bad, are readily available to other consumers for a long time…at least. As companies of all sizes are begining to understand that many times, these opinions have more influence in the potential purchase decisions of other consumers than almost any other form of marketing or communications. In this case, “listening” to consumers for sentiment is a purely reactive effort. 
Drugs, Booze, Insurance, and Cash. Sound like a lot of fun? It could be, I guess, if you are not a social media practitioner in any of those regulated industries. While we talk about being open, transparent & immediate in our social media marketing, that same approach could wind you up in in a whole lot of trouble if you are marketing a new pharma drug. In regulated industries like pharma and banking, the government regulates how these companies can market their products. In industries like spirits, there are some guidelines, however most of the regulation is self-administered both domestically and internationally. Here are some industries and the guidelines they have to follow. 
