Social Media

Michelle Prak is a social media consultant situated in Adelaide. She works for Hughes Public Relations, South Australia's leading public relations and communications consultancy. After Michelle did a guest lecture for us at Adelaide Uni a few weeks ago, I asked her if she would be interested in doing an interview for my blog and here is the end product. It's quite interesting how social media plays a large part in a lot of peoples life. It has become an essential for most, all for different reasons, organising, communicating or maybe just for a bit of a stalk. Either way, most of us would struggle to now live with out it.

First of all, for everyone that's been living under a rock, we should define social media, what is it? 

You could define social media as a “digital social movement” which has capitalised on free tools like Facebook, Twitter, blogs and online communities and given people the ability to create content, share content and connect with each other around the globe.

What do you love about social media?

 I’m a communicator and I love creating content! So social media is very appealing to me, because it gives me the tools to share my thoughts, learn from others, make friends and win clients. I like attending events and meeting people in real life, and at the same time social media enables me to meet new people quickly and easily from my smartphone or laptop. I can maintain long term connections with them. What’s not to love? 

Why is it different to other forms of online advertising? 

I don’t think social media is online advertising. But as to the differences: advertising is usually one-way, it’s often about a short term message and a quick sale, not a long term connection and an equal partnership. However when you place ‘an ad’ in social media, there’s an opportunity for people to ask questions, to criticise, to praise, to share and so on.

Chatrooms and Myspace were very popular social networking sites and they have pretty much died, so to say. With these sites coming and going how do we know what will remain? and why so companies justify putting resources into social media when next week, people may like something else? 

The most popular social media platforms have quite good longevity, for the communications space. Facebook has been around since 2004, Twitter since 2006. In that time, TV shows have come and gone, publications have died, advertising standards have changed and so on. The communications realm is always changing, but there are usually some ‘winners’ that you can invest in.

I’d suggest companies don’t jump onto bandwagons, like GooglePlus for instance. It’s wise to claim your URL in new platforms and to take a look and assess potential. But good social media platforms take time to evolve.

I’d also suggest companies maintain a good official website – this is their home online over the long term, their anchor in a changing world. Their official site can incorporate social media principles (like a forum, blog, live chat, video) and in this way they’re not 100% reliant on a specific platform.

Do you think it's important for brands to converse with their consumers on social media? I say this because I see a lot of brands tweeting and updating their status yet not actually talking and responding to their consumers, isn't that the point of social media? 

You’re right, and they’re missing the point if they’re not conversing. Brands can learn most when they ask questions of their consumers, or seek input.

Has social media replaced online marketing or is it just a part of it? 

It’s part of it, not a replacement.

Hypothetically, i'm launching an alcoholic beverage aimed at boys aged between 18 and 24, where do i start? 

YouTube seems to be a winning space for that demographic, but be very careful with an alcoholic beverage. There are strict rules on advertising within social media platforms, and alcohol is one industry that has some of the most restrictions. Do the wrong thing, and your Facebook Page could be shut down, for instance. I’d start with looking at what other beverage companies are doing on Facebook.

What do you see happening in the future of social media as a marketing tool? 

That’s a big question! I’m not a marketer, so not in the best position to answer. From a PR consultant’s point of view, social media will continue to be important and more organisations will take part rather than being afraid or cynical. Organisations have less of a choice now – many platforms automatically generate a presence for them, and their consumers are talking about them now. Brands need to have a social media presence to steer, protect and grow their brands. In the PR field, it’s important they have a readily-available community so that in case of issues or crises, they’re not starting from scratch and they can defend their brand, debunk myths and so on. In a future PR firm, social media could be the first and central tool that is implemented and planned out – rather than the ‘add on’ that it is now.

You can follow Michelle on twitter here. If you're into Public Relations or Marketing she provides some great insight into how you can use social media to its best ability.