Optimizing Public Relations with Social Media Jana Baxter Instructional Media Services Coordinator Allegheny Intermediate Unit

Questions to Ponder what constitutes an effective media relations program? What are its components? What are the characteristics of a well- managed media relations program these days?

Emergence of Social Media In 2006, the use of Blogs had grown 100 times in just three years 50 million Blogs 57% of teens who use the Internet are considered content producers 55% of 12 – 17 year olds use social networking sites 35,000 new videos were posted daily to YouTube

Evolution of Media Two centuries ago, media was used in reference to newspapers Medium between the political sphere and the individual citizen Editor framed political issues and provided citizens with information needed to make decisions In the 20 th century, mass media emerged Radio, television and film Messages still controlled by a small group of distributors

Evolution of Media continued Over the past several years we have seen Blogs Podcasts Wikis Social Network sites Others Common traits User-driven Organic content Community oriented Easy to use

Blogs Weblog A website that displays in chronological order the postings by one or more individuals and usually has links to comments on specific postings. RSS Really Simple Syndication Distribute Internet Content Examples B’s Blog Allegheny ConnectedED

Podcasts A very new word, for a recent phenomenon, and a great example of how technological change, especially that relating to the Internet and the media, can be a driving force not only in generating new words, but in determining whether they survive and succeed. In this case the rapid adoption of podcasting (the technology) as a means of making audio material available has seen podcasting (the word) move quickly from its first tentative steps in 2004, as only one of a number of suggested names for the process, to near-ubiquity in The current OED quarterly release also includes other members of the same family: podcast as a noun and a verb, podcaster, and even the somewhat ungainly adjective podcasted. Diamond, Graeme (2008, December). December 2008 New Words. Retrieved February 5, 2009, from Oxford English Dictionary Web site:

Don’t need an iPod Not platform specific Began in September 2004 Google search for podcasts ~ 24 hits Lack interactive nature of blogs Only a podcast if you can subscribe

Sources for K-12 Podcasts iTunes Middle School Matters School Leaders Review Education Podcast Network iTunes U

Wikis Fosters collaboration Wikispaces PB Wiki Examples Don’t Block our Future Twittering Journalists Wiki

Social Networking Sites MySpace Personal profile Represents you on the Internet Extend your personal network Over 150 million users Most popular form of social media Facebook Blocked at most districts Why should I have access

Other Sources Twitter Skype Face to Face Collaboration Free Video, audio and text Saves text transcripts Let’s make a call Welcome Kevin!

Advantages of Social Media Sticky Attracts and holds the attention of a vast demographic of people Viral Nature Reaches a wide audience in a short amount of time Opportunity and threat Interactive Can communicate and get immediate feedback High Visibility

Questions to Ponder What constitutes an effective media relations program? What are its components? What are the characteristics of a well- managed media relations program these days?

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