Social Communications

I took a read through the Society for New Communications Research’s New Media, New Influencers and Implications for Public Relations (available for download via this page) last night. There are some interesting figures around how many and what types of businesses are using `new media’ as part of their relationship-building efforts, and I’d recommend taking a peek if you want to get an idea of some of the underlying opportunities and challenges that you might face if you choose to engage.

The paper begins While mainstream media continues to play a vital role in the dissemination of information, even these traditional channels are increasingly being influenced by online conversations. [ed: check out the new 10 Downing Street site for example] The “new influencers” are beginning to tear at the fabric of marketing as it has existed for 100 years, giving rise to a new style of marketing that is characterised by conversation and community.

The paper goes onto outline some of the issues with which you will be familiar if you have used the social web as part of your day-to-day work. Briefly these are:
- how to measure the awareness generated by your activities
- how to measure ROI of social media
- how to identify influencers in social media spaces
- social media users are not just the under 18 group. The 18-25 and 26-35 demographics are almost equally as engaged.

Anyway, if you’re interested in learning more I’d recommend dipping into Groundswell: Winning in a world transformed by social technologies. If you do you might notice that some of the SNCR case studies seem to be (almost word-for-word) the same!

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