Practice of Public Relations 12th

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 Chapter 10: Social Media

Teaching Perspective

Chapter 10 discusses how the Internet and emerging social media have influenced the
practice of public relations.

As professional communicators, public relations students and professionals must be

conversant in all elements of communications. And in the 21st century, no
communications element is more important than the Internet and social media.

This chapter makes the point that mastery of the Internet is as important as any
element in the public relations field. Public relations professionals simply must know
how to use the Web for research, writing, intelligence gathering, and as a tool for
reaching constituent publics.

In particular, the Internet should be considered a means to an end in researching

information for speeches, articles and organizational strategy, communicating internally,
and in enhancing relations with consumers, stockholders, and the media. By the same
token, students should also be aware of the “dangers” inherent in the Internet, particularly
in the dissemination of information that has no basis in fact and may be harmful to
individuals and organizations. Indeed, the case at chapter end deals with a company
under cyber attack and its well-known attacker.

Subject of the From the Top interview in Chapter 10 is Richard Edelman, CEO of
the formidable public relations agency that bears his name and a leader in public relations
social media practice. The Case Study at chapter end details two of Ronald McDonald’s
less fortunate brushes with social media.

Among topics discussed in Chapter 10 are:

Brief history of the Internet

Public relations and the Internet
Websites
Email
Blogs
Social networks
Web-based communications vehicles
The dark side of online communications

PR Ethics Mini-Case: Blogger Backlash Crushes ConAgra Conclave

In the fall of 2011, ConAgra Foods and Ketchum figured they had a great idea. Company
officials decided to invite food bloggers and mommy bloggers to exclusive New York
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City restaurant Sotto Terra, run by celebrity chef George Duran.

According to the invitation, the dinner’s purpose was to sample Mr. Duran’s “delicious
four-course meal and one-of-a-kind sangria” and learn about food trends from a food
industry analyst.

What Ketchum didn’t reveal was that the real purpose of the festivities was to serve the
guests foods from ConAgra frozen line, then use a hidden camera to record guest
reactions.

When the assembled bloggers found out about the ConAgra switcheroo, they responded
in the blogosphere with great force and furious anger. Needless to say, ConAgra canceled
future similar events and vowed not to use the hidden-camera footage for promotional
purposes.

Answers:

1. As a Ketchum representative, I would have counseled ConAgra to host the event,

but to tell the food bloggers in advance what types of foods would be served. The
restaurant event could still have been successfully promoted in a positive manner.

2. The invitation should have clearly stated that ConAgra frozen foods would be
served at the event, but that guests would be surprised at their taste and nutritional
quality. If the foods lived up to their promise, this hook could have served as a
powerful idea to drive the campaign’s success.

Discussion Starters

1. Both the Internet and the World Wide Web have unquestionably “arrived” as
public relations tools and areas of knowledge.

2. The Internet has influenced journalism in that every major publication now has an
online edition, as well as unique online publications without print affiliations.
Internet commerce, after some early disappointment, has gotten up off the deck
and appears robust. Email now dominates internal communications in most
organizations.

3. Email makes communications much more immediate. Because it is easy, there is

risk in emailing without first thinking about whether the e-mail makes sense or
might even be counterproductive. In any event, e-mail dominates organizational
communication.

4. Texting expedites the delivery of messages and is today the most widely used
mobile data service

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 5. An effective email newsletter should include: 1) no more than one page 2) link
content to other material and 3) should be disseminated regularly.

6. Blogs have been added both in the monitoring function of public relations as well
as the publicity function, where important blogs are serviced in the same way as
any other media. .

7. Twitter, increasingly, has been an immediate source of news, the most significant
use of which was the tweeting of the plane that landed in the Hudson River.
Twitter also has become another promotional medium for retailers and celebrities.

8. The “thread,” a continuing online chat room commentary from shareholders and
others about a company, has caused public companies to be constantly on guard,
monitoring what is being said that might affect it.

9. A podcast are audio programs available for downloading at any time. A wiki is a
collaborative Web site that combines the work of many authors. Second Life is a
3-D world created entirely by its members that gives “residents” the opportunity
to interact.

10. Intranets are internal communications vehicles, while Extranets target external
groups.

Case Study: Ronald McDonald’s Brush with Antisocial Media

McDonald’s is one of the globe’s most well-known and progressive companies. And that
extends to its use of social media.

Rick Won, McDonald’s director of social media, has led the fast-food franchiser with a
range of campaigns, hashtags, and blogger outreach programs.

McDonald’s works with bloggers to boost its brand impact. The company never insists
that the bloggers write a word about its products. When they do, sometimes the write-up
isn’t flattering.

Such an enlightened social media approach has won McDonald’s viral credibility. But
two major missteps – one involving African-American customers and another involving
farmers and ranchers -- reminded McDonald’s of how treacherous the social media
terrain can be.

McDonald’s and Mr. Won shaken from these social media blitzes, have learned some
valuable lessons.

It’s fine to be creative with hashtags, Mr. Won says, but it’s better not to create tags that
people assume mean something they don’t. If anything, the social media director
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concluded, the lesson of #McDStories is that you can become an easy target for people
who are uninformed – or worse, out to get you!

Answers:

1. In general, McDonald’s runs a social media strategy that is progressive and

attuned to the realities of operating in the online community. McDonald’s
understands that social media is not controllable, but that it can sometimes be
steered in favorable directions.

2. Nicely done. McDonald’s corporate values and ethical stance came through loud
and clear in their Twitter responses. They regained all the credibility they could.

3. I would have kept the Twitter campaign alive a bit longer, responding with more
positive tweets individually targeted to disgruntled customers.

Chapter 10 Review Quiz (* Indicates Correct Answer)

1. In terms of significance to public relations, development of social media and the

Internet will be:

A. Less important as time goes on.

B. Increasingly more important. *
C. Equivalent in importance to where it is now.
D. Unimportant for public relations people to follow.

2. The communications vehicle that dominates internal communications today is:

A. Employee newsletter.
B. Video.
C. Email. *
D. Employee annual report.

3. Journalists use the Internet heavily for:

A. Research. *
B. Publicity.
C. Interviews.
D. Off-the-record sourcing.

4. Public relations must be directly involved in:

A. Online monitoring.
B. Online media relations.
C. Web site development.
D. All of the above. *
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5. www.wal-martsucks.com is an example of a/an:

A. Thread.
B. Online squatter.
C. Rogue Web site. *
D. Chat room.

6. CEO blogs have been used by:

A. Marriott International.
B. Sun Microsystems.
C. Pitney Bowes.
D. All of the above. *

7. One question that is imperative in designing a winning Web site is:

A. What is our goal?

B. What content will we include?
C. How often will we edit?
D. All of the above. *

8. The ideal email newsletter should be:

A. One page. *
B. One page with attachment.
C. Two pages.
D. One page with jpg attachment.

9. The amount of time visitors spend at a Web site is called:

A. Extension.
B. Cyber use.
C. Stickiness. *
D. Eyeball hits.

10. Online data bases generally pick up:

A. Digital media kits.

B. Speeches.
C. Print news releases.
D. News releases via newswires. *

11. The most popular social media site is Facebook.

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 A. True. *
B. False.

12. Wikipedia is a reference work edited by one individual.

A. True.
B. False. *
13. Rogue Web sites poke good-natured fun at corporations.

A. True.
B. False. *

14. LinkedIn is an art-oriented social networking site.

A. True.
B. False. *

15. The one detriment to online media relations is the impossibility of interviews.

A. True.
B. False. *

Chapter 10: Essay Examinations

1. Discuss the considerations that must go into creating a winning Web site.

Consider the goal.

Consider appropriate content.
Consider frequency of editing and updating.
Consider how design will be enhanced.
Consider interactivity.
Consider how use will be tracked.
Consider who will be responsible.

2. Discuss what is meant by the following online terms: the thread, Rogue Web
sites, and urban legends.

The thread refers to the constant dialogue in Internet chat rooms and discussion
groups about a public company. Often this chatter is harmful to a stock.

Rogue Web sites are those started by disgruntled employees, customers, or

activists, aimed at “exposing” the wrongs of large corporations.

Urban legends are notorious Internet-oriented stories, generally created out of

whole cloth, which spread across the Net wreaking havoc on unsuspecting
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corporate targets.

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