It is important to keep in mind that “social media is not about technology, it is about relationships”. Social media has changed the way we communicate. Building and maintaining relationships has become as simple as checking e-mail or surfing the web. With one click of a button one person can be connected with hundreds of thousands of people. In a YouTube video based on Erik Qualman’s Socialnomics he presents shocking Facebook statistics. For example “if Facebook where a country it’d be the world’s 3rd largest” and “Facebook tops Google for weekly internet traffic in the US”. A PR professional would be crazy to ignore statistics like that. It is important for PR professionals to stay current on trends and use all available means of communication.
Being update with social media gives PR professionals a sense of control. Before social media it was more difficult for PR professionals to receive feedback and improve on imperfections. Now with social media PR professionals can monitor feedback and improve in the areas that are problematic to their business. In an article posted by Circus Strategic Communications on Public Relations they bring light to that fact by stating that “social media provides a better understanding of customers needs and wants which allows you to help meet their needs”. Everyone knows that giving the customer what they need in turn leads to more business. Who doesn’t want more business? No one that’s who.
Last but certainly not least social media has helped improve employee relations. Kyle Lacy stated in his article 5 Ways to Engage Employees that Facebook Groups can be a cost effective way to improve employee collaboration. Without positive employee relations it is near impossible for a business to succeed. Facebook isn’t going out of style any time soon so use it to your advantage! I know I am.
