How Social Media Changes Everything

I recently had the opportunity to attend a CPRS Vancouver Speaker Series event and hear from local PR pro Mat Wilcox. Working in Peak’s social media division, I’m always interested in other people’s thoughts on how social media has transformed the public relations industry.

Since founding her agency in 1995, Mat has managed communication strategies for high profile crises including the avian bird flu epidemic, the H1N1 outbreak and more than 50 labour disruptions. Last June, she announced she would close her agency, noting that social media played a role in her decision.

An engaging and entertaining speaker, Mat began with a some highlights from her lengthy PR career, which included the launch of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts in Canada, and a stint as Charlie Sheen’s publicist. The world events that first put social media on her radar were:

1. The U.S. Airways crash into the Hudson River in early 2009.

2. The Mumbai terrorist attacks in November, 2008.

3. The tragedy at the Fort Hood military post in November, 2009.

Seeing that social media networks were the first to disseminate information about these events, Mat recognized the immediate impact they had on public relations. The main challenge social technologies created for our industry was that companies no longer controlled the message. Strategies that worked yesterday were now completely ineffective.

In the wake of the social media tidal wave, Mat observed that providing traditional crisis management services as she had in the past was no longer an option. The task of keeping on pace with the hundreds – or thousands – of tweets, blog posts and online news stories appearing every hour about a client in crisis didn’t seem feasible. Mat emphasized it was this shift in the practice of communications that led her to close her firm.

As a social media account manager, I could strongly relate to Mat’s comments and appreciated her insights on the changing face of our industry. She offered several valuable suggestions on how we can implement social media more effectively for clients. These were some of the highlights:

• Your company needs to have a personality on social networks, otherwise no one will listen
• Digital media strategies should be developed based on data
• A research specialist can be a great asset to your communications team
• Remember the importance of storytelling when creating content

The main lesson I took away from this talk was that industry professionals need to shift their way of thinking in order to successfully integrate social technologies with traditional PR. As evidenced by the number of questions at the end, Mat’s speech was thought-provoking for all who attended. The event was a success overall, with Speaker Series chair (and Peak VP) Alyn Edwards noting that it was a complete sell-out.