What the Chuck?

Social media has given the general public a more active voice in the media than any other public relations campaign has ever accomplished. A prime example of this is the social media campaign that was launched regarding the possible cancellation of the NBC comedy series, Chuck.

Although the series Chuck has garnered a great deal of praise from critics and has translated into almost a “cult following”, this unfortunately has not translated into ratings success. Once rumors began to swirl that Chuck would possibly not be returning for a third season in the fall of 2009, devoted fans of the comedy quickly sprang to immediate action.

The TV blog “Give Me My Remote” were the catalysts behind the “Give Me My Chuck” movement. Bloggers encouraged fans of the NBC series to not only be sure to tune in every week for the end of Season 2, but also to encourage friends and family members to become devoted followers of the series. Many fans felt so passionately about the cancellation of Chuck that they too looked to the web to let out their frustration.

Following rumors of Chuck’s cancellation, Facebook pages dedicated to the “Save Chuck” campaign quickly began to grow on the web. Fans of Chuck were also encouraged to use their Facebook statuses to let Facebook friends not only know to watch Chuck, but to also join the different pages dedicated to the series. Tweeters would often use the hash-tags “#save chuck” or “#chuck” on Twitter, and many fans made their background images pictures supporting the series and campaign.

Because of the success of the fan-driven social media campaign, Chuck was eventually not only picked up for a third season, but has been renewed for a fourth season this fall. Social media has truly given fans and the general public power that they had previously never truly possessed. NBC realized that such a strong “cult following” could hopefully translate into ratings success for the series. The decision to “Save Chuck” reflects positively on NBC as a network dedicated to presenting quality television despite less than impressive ratings. It also portrays NBC as a network who truly values its dedicated fans.

How to Reach Your "Target"

As a junior in college, I’ve come to the understanding that Target is a critical means of survival for many college students across the country. From toiletries to apparel, they’ve truly provided all you can need in a “One-Stop-Shop.” Each summer I look forward to my trip to Target to purchase all of my dorm necessities.

 Target has sharply created a college brand in which students are able to purchase any and all of their dorm room needs. From XL-Twin sheets to stackable bins, if the college kid needs it, Target has it. This past summer, not only did Target sharply capitalize on the market that is college students (and believe me, it exists) but also knew the proper outlets to reach their “targets”.

This past summer, Target launched a social media campaign on Facebook dedicated to their College Collection. They decided to focus their Facebook page on dorm room survival. Their page featured a “Checklist” of all incoming freshman college needs, but also had different daily tips for future students. Naturally, the Facebook page featured multiple pictures of Target’s dorm merchandise. However, the Facebook page also had a feature that allowed students to upload pictures of their dorm rooms equipped with Target’s College Collection.

I thought that the ability of consumers to upload their own photos was the most brilliant aspect of the Target Facebook campaign. One of everyone’s favorite apps to Facebook is photos. While consumers got the thrill of having their photo blasted across the internet for all of Target’s “fans’” to see, Target was able to not only have their merchandise seen by more prospective customers, but also highlight that Target’s merchandise truly is the most functional for the college dorm.

Public Relations is defined as a means of two way communication between the company and their audience. Therefore, an opportunity for active participation from the audience needs to be a key feature of the social media campaign. While unhappy customer response could potentially backfire for a company launching a social media campaign, the Target College Necessities Facebook campaign was undoubtedly successful. As “Black Friday” and the Christmas shopping season approaches, I’m excited to see what Target, and their Facebook page, has in store for loyal customers.

Social Media and Crisis Communication

Throughout the semester, I have focused my blog on the appeal of social media and the contributions it has provided for the public relations industry. However, social media, like all other forms of legitimate PR, is also forced to address one of the negative aspects of public relations: crisis management and communication. Because of our sophisticated age of technology, information is able to travel at lightning speed. A negative comment or post about a company can be posted on the internet, and potentially viewed by millions within a matter of seconds. Therefore, it is necessary for a PR practitioner using social media to know how to accurately respond to all types of situations.

According to this article, “Surviving a Social Networking Crisis, although the internet provides a new outlet for public relations practitioners to address crises, the steps taken in addressing these issues should remain a constant. The author notes that the public relations representative or agency must address the problem, be honest, gauge a response from the audience, respond quickly, and assign a point person. These steps have been critical components of public relations crisis management in the past, and will be essential to social media crisis management as well.

The internet provides innovative opportunities to reach your audience, such as online video streaming, and new forms of audience feedback, such as comments or blogging. In spite of these modern elements that have aided the practice of public relations, PR pros must still engage in all of the necessary steps of crisis management and communication that have been respected in past public relations activity.

Comments on Peers Blogs

In Katerina Torres’ blog she notes how qualitative research can be conducted on social media websites, more specifically, Facebook. Torres writes that Facebook offers many different elements to the website that would allow a public relations professional to engage in legitimate research. Torres mentions that Discussion forums on the popular website can be an excellent approach for PR pros to actually understand their publics and target publics opinions, likes/dislikes, etc. Torres also notes that these forums offer a duel opportunity for a PR practitioner to not only engage in qualitative research, but unobtrusive research as well. When a person posts on a Facebook wall, newsfeed, discussion, etc., they really have no concept of how many potential people can reach this message. Therefore, it would seem natural that PR pros could use these posts to unobtrusively study their targets. 

                Francesca’s blog also mentions how social media websites are quickly becoming an important research tool in the public relations industry. She notes how many companies, more specifically in the film industry, will post videos on YouTube and other sites to examine how their potential targets have reacted to a video, trailer, etc. Researchers can then wager what is the best approach to further disseminate their information into the media. Social media websites also offer the positive aspect of often being free, while other forms of research, such as focus groups and interviews, can often be extremely costly for a researcher or firm. Because of this financial save, it would seem like a “no brainer” for researchers and agencies to use social media websites as a main source of research.

Social Media Breakfast: The Present and Future of Social Media

                Quinnipiac’s Social Media Breakfast took place on October 15 and was led by Phil Simon, a Quinnipiac Graduate Communications Professor. The panel consisted of local Communications professionals, including Dan Weingrod, Kevin Downs, Kristen De Ferraro and Ben Kunz. The panel chose to focus specifically on four aspects of Social Media:

·         Social Media and Advertising

·         Returns on Social Media Campaigns

·         What strategies can Social Media Experts use to reach specific audiences

·         What’s in store for the future of Social Media

                Kristen Del Ferraro is a representative from Humongo, a digital marketing agency. Del Ferraro noted that Social Media has forced Media, as a whole, to be a much more cohesive entity. “Ads on TV and Billboards now have Facebook and Twitter tags,” said Del Ferraro.  “Media hasn’t changed. The way it’s produced and distributed has.”

                Throughout the seminar, all four representatives noted that a Social Media campaign is a necessary strategy for all members of the Communications field. Social Media is such a novel idea as a legitimate form of Communications, that many professionals have had difficulty adjusting to Social Media, as well as learning how to implement it properly into a campaign. “A lot of marketers don’t understand how to use Social Media,” said Dan Weingrod, a rep from Cronin and Company. “PR pros recognize that things change, and we have to deal with it. PR has reacted more favorably to Social Media than Advertisers and Marketers.”

                So what’s in store for the future of Social Media? Has it grown so quickly that soon it will be so common that it will become overkill? All of the members of the panel agreed that Social Media will become an extremely valuable resource in the Communications field as long as professionals know how to accurately and concisely reach their targets. If the professionals are not pursuing the interests and concerns of their target markets through their Social Media campaigns, there is chance that the followers will reject the outlet as a viable source to receive information.

Target Feedback: How Social Media Can Trump the Rest

The introduction of social media as a viable tool in public relations has forced pros to adapt to writing for the web. In her article “Writing a PR Plan to Incorporate Social Media,” Mary White does an outstanding job of highlighting the most essential differences in writing for online. White notes that public relations writing in the past focused on having your information “outbounded” to traditional mediums like newspapers and magazines. Writing for a social media campaign facilitates information directly to your targets on your social media pages like company websites, Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, etc.

White highlights that the most significant and important aspect of a social media campaign is the ability for the target audience to give direct feedback about the company’s product, service, etc. White writes, “Simply having a presence in social media outlets is not sufficient. You need to actively participate them [the audience].”

Public Relations is often defined as a means of two way communication between a company and their targets. However, traditional means of public relations often don’t allow for necessary feedback, or rather, communication, from your audience. While using traditional media sources, like newspapers, is a means of reaching your target, the feedback you will receive from the audience is minimal. One would need to read an article, and then go out of their way to contact a company about their responses. Articles, posts, links, etc. that are displayed on social media websites for a company usually have an option attached for reader commentary. This accessibility will often prompt most readers to give his/her response to the announcement. The heavy amount of feedback is without a doubt a strong component in future decision making.

 In a suffering economy, every company needs to be able to hear the wants and needs from their targets directly. I believe that social media often offers a duel pro for companies: It is often more cost effective than traditional media forms and offers an opportunity for audiences to give more direct and specific feedback.

QU Social Media Breakfast

Social media has become such a prevailing tool in the world of Communications that it is becoming a necessary component of education. For example, a major component of our Public Relations Research course is dedicated to weekly blogging, one of the most dominant forms of social media. The social media trend that is currently dominating the public relations industry has not gone unnoticed by educators in the field, specifically, here at Quinnipiac.

The graduate interactive communications program is co-sponsoring a Social Media Breakfast with Cronin and Company and Mediassociates. The event is scheduled to begin on October 15, and will continue to be held every six weeks throughout the remainder of the school year. The Social Media Breakfasts will consist of panel discussions by leading professionals in the Connecticut area, talk backs, presentations, etc. The main goal of this conference series is to establish discussion of how the emerging tool of social media can be viewed as a more permanent and respected aspect of PR, advertising, etc. in Connecticut. Cronin and Company, one of the sponsors, have used multiple forms of social media, like Facebook events, Twitter, etc. to gain more publicity for the conference.

It is essential for all PR programs and educators adapt to the constantly changing medias available. Students hoping to have a career PR need to have the appropriate skills to work in the multiple channels that have not only existed in the industry, but are beginning to emerge. “Our students are studying social media and to hear professionals discuss how it is used day-to-day is invaluable,” said Phillip Simon, director of Quinnipiac’s graduate interactive Communications program.

The first conference in the Social Media Breakfast Series will take place October 15^th at 7:30 AM. The series will be held each week in the Mancheski Seminar Room of the Lender Business Center.