Keeping up with social media

I think that the discussion on traditional vs. Web 2.0 is best started by the use of this quote from the text book, “Putting the Public Back in Public Relations: How Social Media is Reinventing the Aging Business of PR” written by Brian Solis and Deirdre Breakenridge.

“The AP Stylebook was our bible, and we carried it everywhere. We were told that journalists worldwide accepted the guidelines in the AP Stylebook and that if we wanted to get our news releases and articles published, we must always strictly abide by its rules and never deviate” (Solis & Breakenridge, 2009). Being from the old school, I still find a small sense of nausea when I read a release by a respected organization that doesn’t abide by those rules. But believe me, I get it. The tone online is much more conversational now, and less emphasis on the journalistic audience.

Throughout my recent studies, I have come upon the concept of the social media news release. But, the quote above demonstrates how us old PR folks think, and perhaps sheds light upon why we are so resistant to this change. The AP Stylebook was driven into our heads, especially in my military PR experience. My journalism instructors we so religious in their adherence to that stylebook. Each time we put a period or comma in the wrong place, or whatever; they seemed to attack us with such fervor analogous to a zealot of some sort – taking off a tremendous amounts of points causing us all to teeter on coursework failure. I like the bible metaphor that Solis and Breakenridge associate with the AP Stylebook. It was indeed a guideline of which a perception of “no deviations” was clearly understood. AP Stylebook aside, I want to spend a few paragraphs on the social media news release.

In a blog titled “How to Write a Social Media Press Release,” Louis Dubois seems to be making an attempt for us old PR type. He cites the comments from Jamie Turner, the CEO of BKV Digital and Direct response, who sums of the topic. Turner sees the traditional release as specific “points in time,” while a social release is “an evolving continuum.” When I used to write news releases, and/or edit/produce various military publications. Once they went to print, that was it. You couldn’t go back and edit your mistakes – all you could do was do a retraction if the mistake was so prominent to require one. As an editor, I hated the arm-chair quarterbacking of my bosses who always found mistakes when the paper or magazine came out. After all, they had a chance to read over the thing during the editing process. I had all their initials on the circulatory documents. Complaining about the process aside, my point here is that the eventual release of this stuff was set in stone with each “-30-“ or “###” that was put at the end of those things. Turner puts the traditional final project into perspective as he points out exactly what we were forced to do after publication – that is “standing by waiting to see what the reaction is” (Dubois, 2010).

“The nature of social media is that it moves so rapidly between people and the conversation quickly grows organically,” says Turner. Notice that I used the word “says” to attribute the quote. If I remember correctly, AP stylebook only allowed for the word “said” or the words “according to” to attribute a quote. In the spirit of new media, I am trying something different here (LOL). Joking aside, Turner’s point is that the Web 2.0 is an evolving creature. You can go back and edit it and/or respond to your audience all in the same context of the release – something that us old PR type perhaps struggle with. These things being said, consider the following “pull quote” from Dubois on social media press releases.

“And despite the change in technology, the press release remains one of the best ways to get your message out. But writing a press release for social media is not like writing a traditional press release.”

(Dubois, 2010)

Dubois points out that social media news releases do not “replace” traditional release; “they complement them” (Dubois, 2010).

I feel like the major points that Solis and Breakenridge are making in their textbook, is that a blending of the old and new is the way to go. News releases are great in that they provide a great guideline to go by. I still use the basic framework in my compositions but I must admit that I have branched out a bit more as the rigidness of the AP expectations has slowly dwindled.

The Louis Dubois article provides a lot of insight into the current thinking on social media news releases. I won’t regurgitate the entire article here as that would go beyond the purposes of this discussion post, I feel. But I encourage it as a good read. It is a great blending of the old and the new and I intend to spend a lot more time on it in the next few days – trying to keep up and all.

References

Dubois, L (2010) . How to Write a Social Media Press Release: The success of a social media campaign is reliant upon the networks and users themselves. Here is how to craft a press release that incorporates social interactivity. Blog . Inc.com. November 2010 . retrieved from https://www.inc.com/guides/2010/11/how-to-write-a-social-media-press-release.html

Solis, B. & Breakenridge, D. (2009) . Putting the Public Back in Public Relations: How Social Media is Reinventing the Aging Business of PR . Pearson Education . Upper Saddle, N.J. 2009