Hello, readers. This page will be where I will link to and describe readings on the topic of social media in public relations and advertising that I feel are important and interesting. I hope that these articles will provide you with a basic understanding of social media or will help you improve the understanding that you may already have.
1.) Falls, Jason. "Social Media is the Responsibility of Public Relations." Social Media Explorer. 18 July 2008. Web. 2 Feb. 2011.
This entry is from a blog that I read regularly. The author is very adamant about the importance of social media in general and in public relations. Falls stresses that it is important to have someone who specializes in the workings of social media to be responsible for it inside of a company. Falls also speaks about the importance of maintaining good writing skills while working with social media. Falls wants us to know that social media isn't all about the technological aspect - it is still very much about good writing and good PR.
2.) Singer, Adam. "Social Media For PR: Why It's Vital You Embrace It." TopRank. Web. 2 Feb. 2011.
This is also a blog post. This one is from TopRank which is a popular marketing blog. Singer writes a very convincing post by listing a variety of reasons why social media is not only important but is impossible to ignore. Singer believes that embracing social media's role in PR is something that all professionals within the field will inevitably have to do because of the increasing role of all things digital in our daily lives. Singer talks about how PR is changing to adapt to the times and that social media is at the forefront of these changes.
3.) Falls, Jason. "Public Relations Pros Must be Social Media Ready." Social Media Explorer. 10 Aug. 2009. Web. 2 Feb. 2011.
This is another blog post by Jason Fall on the Social Media Explorer blog. I chose this blog post for the list because I find it extremely interesting as someone who has chosen the field of PR for a future career. Anyone that hopes to become involved in PR in their future should consider Falls' opinion on the importance of being will versed in the usage of social media. Falls believes that social media and public relations should not be quite grouped together but that they should be considered in the same breath.
4.) Ennen, Diana. "Social Media and the New PR Model." All About Public Relations. Web. 2 Feb. 2011
This is a blog post on a website dedicated to the basics about public relations and public relations campaigns. This entry is meant to be read by beginners who have not yet embraced any kind of social media devices. Ennen describes the need for the acceptance of the role of social media and gives readers many tips on how to start and gives definitions of common social media terminology. This blog entry is fitting for this blog because of its simplicity. Ennen knows that not all professionals have this knowledge but many assume they do. Ennen gives those people who haven't explored what can be achieved with social media a painless and easy to understand run-through of some of the most important sites and how and why to use them.
5.) Seidenberg, Steven. “Seduced: For Lawyers the Appeal of Social Media is Obvious. It’s Also Dangerous.” ABA Journal. Web. 1 Feb. 2011. 21 Feb. 2011.
I’m including this article in the required reading list because it covers an issue that is very important and should be one of the first considerations of any professional or anyone in general who chooses to use any social media outlet. The consequences of saying something that can be perceived in a negative or offensive way are covered in this article from the ABA Journal, which is an online law journal. The article focuses on a certain lawyer’s journey after posting a blog post that was deemed insensitive even though he had felt there was nothing wrong with it. This post is important because all people need to understand that there are negative sides to social media.
6.) Gladwell, Malcom. “Small Change: Why the Revolution will not be Tweeted.” The New Yorker. Web. 4 Oct. 2010. 21 Feb. 2011.
Though this article slightly contradicts my opinion on the importance of social media on all aspects, such as news, politics, and entertainment, I find it to be extremely interesting from a historical standpoint. The article makes a good point about how information was spread in the past compared to how it is spread via social media in this day and age. It gives two differing standpoints on how Twitter’s role affected to conflict in Iran.
7.) Baker, Stephen. Green, Heather. “Social Media will Change Your Business.” BusinessWeek. Web. 20 Feb. 2008. 21 Feb. 2011.
This article is very important because it stresses the importance of utilizing social media into your business tactics. It asks you to look past all the extremists and realize that the majority of business competitors are choosing to go the social media route with their business tactics and if your business doesn’t also choose the social media path, you will likely be left behind.
8.) McKenzie, Neil. “Social Media vs. Social Networking.” ColoradoBiz. Web. 12 Oct. 2010. 21 Feb. 2011.
This article was written by a Coloradoan photographer who brings up many great points about the usage of social media and its history. The author uses social media websites such as Facebook to advertise and promote his photography. He also speaks about knowing of many other people both in Colorado and elsewhere who use social media for the same purposes. He then writes about the transformation of what was once known as “social networking” into “social media.” It provides an extremely interesting account on why this transformation was made and what it means to all those who choose to utilize social media.
9.) Monty, Scott. “Blogging is Dead.” The Social Media Marketing Blog. Web. 8 Mar. 2011. 30 Mar. 2011.
This is a blog post from a blog called The Social Media Marketing Blog which is run by Scott Monty who is the head of social media for the Ford Motor Company. This is an important and interesting article because it mentions how often the media claims that blogging (and social media in general) is dead. Whether or not the claims by media are true, Monty wants people involved in PR and marketing to realize that the strength of the message they are hoping to convey is even more important now than it has ever been because of how many messages are being thrown at people every day.
10.) Kimbarovsky, Ross. “10 Small Business Social Media Marketing Tips.” Mashable. Web. 28 Oct. 2009. 30 Mar. 2011.
This is a short article that can be found on Mashable.com. This really isn't so much an article as it is a slightly detailed list. The list gives tips to small business on how to be successful with social media. This list is important to read for the practical use of the tips it contains, but it also has a side lesson. The fact that lists are created in order to help people with utilizing social media in effective ways shows that it is something that is typically approached strategically.
11.) “Creating a Marketing Buzz Through Social Media Networks.” The Royal Gazette Online. Web. 30 Mar. 2011. 30 Mar. 2011.
Some readers may be put off by getting helpful information from blog articles simply because you can't always be guaranteed that what you're reading is 100% accurate. Though that assumption is typically not true, including some articles from actual news sources seemed very logical. This article from The Royal Gazette in Bermuda is all about how PR professional use social media in order to generate a marketing buzz. This article is useful because it continues to stress the importance of learning about and utilizing social media, only this source allows readers to hear this from an actual news source instead of another blog.
12.) Indiana Chamber of Commerce. “Don't Make PR Mistakes on Social Media.” Valpolife. Web. 30 Mar. 2011.
This blog post restates the idea that some people in the industry have that social media is dead. The author of this blog post goes on to say that it may not be that social media is dead, but that the people who see it as being dead, simply aren't using it correctly. The post continues with tips for PR professionals who are attempting to use social media in the most effective way possible, such as making sure you maintain a business-like tone on social media sites.
13.) Deckers, Erick. Lacy, Kyle. "Branding Yourself: How to Use Social Media to Invent or Reinvent Yourself." Web. 17 Dec. 2010. 24 Apr. 2011.
This entry is a book that can be found via the West Virginia University libraries website. I found this book by searing for eJournal titles that included the words "social" and "media." This book was about the third result. The book's title immediately struck me because it perfectly defined my major point throughout everything I've written for this blog. You can only see all of the contents of the book if you purchase it from the publisher, which I would definitely recommend to anyone who is wanting to use social media for their advantage but is still not 100% sure how to go about doing it.
14.) Marcus Dockser, Amy. "ALS Study Shows Social Media' Value as Research Tool." Web. 24 Apr. 2011. 24 Apr. 2011.
For my future career, I am hoping to get involved in either health care PR, such as working for a hospital or a network of hospitals or working in PR in the drug industry, so this article caught my eye. As far as I've noticed with my limited exposure to health care PR, I haven't seen much mention of social media. This article talks about an ALS study that was done that showed that a certain treatment for ALS did not perform as well as hoped, but that social networking with the patients was a success.
15.) Prada, Mike. "NFL Draft 2011: Teams Using Social Media More Than Ever." Web. 24 Apr. 2011. 24 Apr. 2011.
I think that when you're attempting to know as much about a subject as you can, it's important to read about subjects pertaining to it that might not interest you as much as others. As for me, I'm not very interested in the world of sports, but it is such a large and important industry in PR and advertising that it simply can't be ignored. This article talks about NFL teams utilizing social media, from their top PR reps to individual players - the league is fully immersed in social media.
16.) Besecker-Morgan, Terrie. "Social media have rewritten political rules." Web. 24 Apr. 2011. 24 Apr. 2011.
Unlike sports, politics is a subject that I'm very interested in. It may seem like an obvious statement to make to people who are involved or are interested in politics, that candidates and their parties have been using social media to reach their voters, but it is still a statement that needs to be made. This article talks about a man named Eugene Kelleher who had never even heard of Facebook before he decided to run for city council, but turned to it during election season to reach out to voters.
9.) Monty, Scott. “Blogging is Dead.” The Social Media Marketing Blog. Web. 8 Mar. 2011. 30 Mar. 2011.
This is a blog post from a blog called The Social Media Marketing Blog which is run by Scott Monty who is the head of social media for the Ford Motor Company. This is an important and interesting article because it mentions how often the media claims that blogging (and social media in general) is dead. Whether or not the claims by media are true, Monty wants people involved in PR and marketing to realize that the strength of the message they are hoping to convey is even more important now than it has ever been because of how many messages are being thrown at people every day.
10.) Kimbarovsky, Ross. “10 Small Business Social Media Marketing Tips.” Mashable. Web. 28 Oct. 2009. 30 Mar. 2011.
This is a short article that can be found on Mashable.com. This really isn't so much an article as it is a slightly detailed list. The list gives tips to small business on how to be successful with social media. This list is important to read for the practical use of the tips it contains, but it also has a side lesson. The fact that lists are created in order to help people with utilizing social media in effective ways shows that it is something that is typically approached strategically.
11.) “Creating a Marketing Buzz Through Social Media Networks.” The Royal Gazette Online. Web. 30 Mar. 2011. 30 Mar. 2011.
Some readers may be put off by getting helpful information from blog articles simply because you can't always be guaranteed that what you're reading is 100% accurate. Though that assumption is typically not true, including some articles from actual news sources seemed very logical. This article from The Royal Gazette in Bermuda is all about how PR professional use social media in order to generate a marketing buzz. This article is useful because it continues to stress the importance of learning about and utilizing social media, only this source allows readers to hear this from an actual news source instead of another blog.
12.) Indiana Chamber of Commerce. “Don't Make PR Mistakes on Social Media.” Valpolife. Web. 30 Mar. 2011.
This blog post restates the idea that some people in the industry have that social media is dead. The author of this blog post goes on to say that it may not be that social media is dead, but that the people who see it as being dead, simply aren't using it correctly. The post continues with tips for PR professionals who are attempting to use social media in the most effective way possible, such as making sure you maintain a business-like tone on social media sites.
13.) Deckers, Erick. Lacy, Kyle. "Branding Yourself: How to Use Social Media to Invent or Reinvent Yourself." Web. 17 Dec. 2010. 24 Apr. 2011.
This entry is a book that can be found via the West Virginia University libraries website. I found this book by searing for eJournal titles that included the words "social" and "media." This book was about the third result. The book's title immediately struck me because it perfectly defined my major point throughout everything I've written for this blog. You can only see all of the contents of the book if you purchase it from the publisher, which I would definitely recommend to anyone who is wanting to use social media for their advantage but is still not 100% sure how to go about doing it.
14.) Marcus Dockser, Amy. "ALS Study Shows Social Media' Value as Research Tool." Web. 24 Apr. 2011. 24 Apr. 2011.
For my future career, I am hoping to get involved in either health care PR, such as working for a hospital or a network of hospitals or working in PR in the drug industry, so this article caught my eye. As far as I've noticed with my limited exposure to health care PR, I haven't seen much mention of social media. This article talks about an ALS study that was done that showed that a certain treatment for ALS did not perform as well as hoped, but that social networking with the patients was a success.
15.) Prada, Mike. "NFL Draft 2011: Teams Using Social Media More Than Ever." Web. 24 Apr. 2011. 24 Apr. 2011.
I think that when you're attempting to know as much about a subject as you can, it's important to read about subjects pertaining to it that might not interest you as much as others. As for me, I'm not very interested in the world of sports, but it is such a large and important industry in PR and advertising that it simply can't be ignored. This article talks about NFL teams utilizing social media, from their top PR reps to individual players - the league is fully immersed in social media.
16.) Besecker-Morgan, Terrie. "Social media have rewritten political rules." Web. 24 Apr. 2011. 24 Apr. 2011.
Unlike sports, politics is a subject that I'm very interested in. It may seem like an obvious statement to make to people who are involved or are interested in politics, that candidates and their parties have been using social media to reach their voters, but it is still a statement that needs to be made. This article talks about a man named Eugene Kelleher who had never even heard of Facebook before he decided to run for city council, but turned to it during election season to reach out to voters.
