A PR Guy's Musings | Stuart Bruce - Latest Comments

Re: Future of PR and social media for International Air Transport Association crisis communications conference

Chris Norton — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 07:00:51 -0000

Great article Stuart - love it.

Re: Blogging is dead: just 36% of internet users write blogs

Yogita Aggarwal — Thu, 07 Aug 2014 04:14:19 -0000

Me too a blogger and i am a techie blogger :)

Re: Blogging is dead: just 36% of internet users write blogs

Shirley Pattison — Sun, 20 Jul 2014 07:50:20 -0000

Hi Stuart,
Thank you for your article, and I agree with you that there are opportunities out there for marketers to tap in and that there is a gap in the market. Bloggers are top influencers in todays consumer society, people are much more likely to trust recommendations from a real person, than from a targeted promotion email. Bloggers are everywhere, FB users, Twitter, Google +.... It is important that bloggers have a way to organise the industry information so that they can share their ideas with their followers. I wonder how many tools are out there to help bloggers achieve this?

Re: Social media is easier than PR

Philip Crabtree — Fri, 18 Jul 2014 00:24:53 -0000

Stuart, I won't fully agree or disagree with you, because there are some other nuances not addressed. As I tell my team, social media should never be the main effort of your communication or promotion strategy.

Social media is a tool--or, as the name suggests, a medium--for communicating. Just as a sports team has many players playing different positions and coming together to work as a team to win, the same is true of PR, and social media practitioners should consider themselves as a valuable member of the PR team but not the key player around which a team is constructed.

You are absolutely right in your assessment that it is important to not only use the tool (social media) but also how to leverage it. As a rugby player, I understand kicking the ball in a match can be beneficial. On the other hand, if I only employ kicking the ball down the pitch as my strategy for winning the game, I will be sorely disappointed at the end of the match having not scored any tries despite my stellar kicking skills. The same is true of social media, and it has been proven to not significantly influence target audiences to action in and by itself.

Bottom line: Don't abandon tried and true communications skills in deference to the latest toys and shiny objects. Nothing beats written and verbal communication skills as a core skill set.

Re: Social media is easier than PR

Stuart Bruce — Tue, 15 Jul 2014 04:11:31 -0000

Sorry Paul, I thought I'd replied to this, but only just realised I didn't.
I agree with you that "to be good at social communications you need a very specific mindset", but that on its own is never going to be enough. And it's interesting that you say 'mindset' rather than experience or expertise. Even if you get someone with the right mindset you still need to train/teach them both public relations and social communications.
As PR is a broader discipline than social media, and therefore has a far bigger body of knowledge you need to learn, it is still going to be easier to teach the person with the right mindset social media than it is PR.
I think the real challenge is to find 'good' people for PR or social media. There are many who are competent and capable, some who aren't, but far fewer who are good. The field of those who therefore also have the right 'mindset' is even smaller.

Re: Social media is easier than PR

Paul Sutton — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 09:34:43 -0000

Hi Stuart. I said earlier in the week that I’d leave a comment after my tweet, so sorry this is late. Clients always come first ;)

As I briefly stated in my tweet, I disagree with you on this one.

I DO agree that PR is a broader discipline than social media, at least in the sense that you refer to social media in this article. I also agree that you can’t fully teach PR strategy on the job.

But I think you’re seriously underestimating what it takes to be a good social communications consultant. And furthermore, I think this is a major issue within PR agencies as a whole. Good social media people are undervalued; there’s an attitude that ‘anyone can do it’.

They can’t.

It’s true that anyone can learn to use social media. But to be good at SOCIAL COMMUNICATIONS you need a very specific mindset. And it has nothing to do with PR and marketing and customer service and strategy and crisis comms and reputation management. True social communications is a real skill, and is very distinct from other forms of communication in terms of understanding and tone.

I’ve tried teaching many PR consultants social communications (as opposed to social media) in the last five years, and very few of them have really had the mindset for it (which I fully admit, I struggle to describe). I don’t believe this mindset can really be taught; I believe it’s something you have or you don’t have.

To state that social media is easier than PR fundamentally misses this point and is, in my view, quite blinkered. It perpetuates the myth that ‘anyone can do social media’ and puts me in mind of the Dunning-Kruger Effect which I outlined in relation to this topic here: http://futurecomms.co.uk/20.... It does good social communications people (and I do mean ‘good’, not the majority) a disservice, and that needs to change right through the PR industry.

That’s why your statement got the reaction it did on the day and since.

Re: Social media is easier than PR

Stuart Bruce — Wed, 25 Jun 2014 06:05:02 -0000

I'm responding to a tweet from Bradley Wilson (@newsandviews4u) in the comments, as impossible to explain in 140 characters.

"@CIPR_UK @Stuart Bruce With algorithm changes, engagement, customer service, brand voice and online PR -social media certainly isn't easier."
Online PR - if you're making a distinction between 'online' PR and physical world PR then you're probably doing it wrong as you don't look after reputation or just have relationships in one place. And surely by definition 'online PR' is public relations and not just social media.
Brand voice - jargon. If there is such a thing as brand voice then it's more likely to be public relations than social media, for the same reason I give above you don't just have a voice online and certainly not just on social media.
Customer service - social media is part of customer service and is therefore best done by customer service people who 'get' social media, not by social media or PR people, although both can certainly advise and support customer service to ensure we have joined up thinking.
Engagement - is fundamentally a key part of what public relations actually is. How you can possibly look after relationships if your don't engage?
Algorithm changes - one of many technical things that all PR people need to be aware of so they can get expert help when needed. Just the same as lawyers, mareketeers etc need to be aware and get help when needed.

Re: Newspaper Licensing Agency beaten to a pulp by PRCA and Meltwater

Chris Norton — Mon, 09 Jun 2014 06:46:57 -0000

I can't believe I missed this news - a brilliant victory for common sense.

Re: David Cameron forgets Twitter needs to be authentic – again!

John Erskine — Thu, 20 Mar 2014 15:42:14 -0000

Hi Stuart,

Thanks for a good blog post. I am currently an Strategic Public Relations MSc student working on a digital pr module and thought I would comment on your post.

I agree with you its very ironic that ex PR man David Cameron has so many digital gaffes on his Twitter account. I actually didn't think the phone call to Obama was the worst, as you highlighted correctly the so clearly staged and awkward photos like the one of DC watching the olympics is just so cringe.

Compare this to Brack Obama who until recently held the record for most RTs in 24 hours, a genuine photo with meaning that people can relate to is the key to success on twitter for politicians.

Re: Twitter: Views are my own – oh no they aren’t

MSLGROUP — Wed, 19 Feb 2014 09:05:09 -0000

Exactly. Our guidelines clarify that our people must remember they are seen as representing the company on social media. Take a look - we'd love your feedback: http://mslgroup.com/support...

Re: Twitter: Views are my own – oh no they aren’t

Chris Norton — Wed, 19 Feb 2014 06:38:06 -0000

Another great post Stuart but just for legal reasons that is not the view of my employer.

Re: The 10 best corporate Vine and Instagram videos for PR

Jim Madaffer — Wed, 12 Feb 2014 06:31:38 -0000

Stuart you enlightened me. I always took pride on being tech savvy but was blissfully ignorant of these two wonderful video social media platforms.

Now like an excited kid in a candy shop, I am exploring them and on my way to make my initial presence here.

Jim Madaffer,
Ex Councillor/Public relations consultant
http://madaffer.com/

Re: The evolution of social media

serenaehrlich — Mon, 27 Jan 2014 12:08:08 -0000

I blame you for all of it. :-)

Re: The evolution of social media

Stuart Bruce — Thu, 16 Jan 2014 04:32:40 -0000

You're right Claire. What first got me into online PR/social media were Usenet groups and email lists. In fact I some of the people I from the old PR email lists are now the ones most active/visible/respected in new social media. I'm thinking of people like Serena Ehrlich and Peter Shankman.

Re: The evolution of social media

Claire Thompson — Thu, 16 Jan 2014 04:27:18 -0000

CB radio but no mention of the founding of the Internet? Of Cix or chat rooms and message boards which were the real forebears of social media? It's It's a great piece of work, though.

Re: The evolution of social media

Chris Norton — Wed, 15 Jan 2014 04:55:54 -0000

Yeah his presentations are amazing - he does dead pan humour very cleverly.

Re: The evolution of social media

Stuart Bruce — Wed, 15 Jan 2014 04:53:30 -0000

You're welcome. It's a good piece of work that obviously took some time to create. Might have been fun to go back even earlier and reference some of the Roman social media that Tom Standage talks about in Writing on the Wall.

Re: The evolution of social media

Chris Norton — Wed, 15 Jan 2014 03:50:54 -0000

Thanks for mentioning this Stuart - I really appreciate it. It took a fair bit of work and we had to cut a few out as there are too many to mention the graphic could go on for ever.

Re: Why blogging still matters for public relations

davidrbrain — Sun, 05 Jan 2014 04:45:14 -0000

how lovely to be included in that list......my only new years' resolution is to get back to more of this.

Re: New Year’s Resolutions for 2014

Sarah Stimson — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 06:58:03 -0000

Great list Stuart. I'm with you on number 10. If you decide to go the indie publishing route for your book I'm happy to give you some guidance.

Re: Forums and blogs: old social media still count

Luke Collis — Tue, 12 Nov 2013 18:47:02 -0000

Great post. Forums are a better platform to get more information out as well. Still, it really is all about fishing where the fish are. If who you are trying to reach aren't on forums but are on Twitter, then Twitter is where you have to go.

Re: Forums and blogs: old social media still count

Richard — Tue, 05 Nov 2013 17:41:02 -0000

Interesting post Stuart

Re: 80 rules of social media – for PR redux

Rachel S. Park — Tue, 05 Nov 2013 02:14:08 -0000

great summary! of the ones you've highlighted #28 and 36 are my faves. i also love 2, 8 and 72. i've been immobilized on how to use social media for a b2b, but that's not the way i should approach the challenge. it is truly a P2P environment where useful content and collaboration is the key to building a community of brand advocates.

Re: Jessie J – Price Tag lipdub by 500 women in Uganda to promote microfinance

Flame PR — Fri, 25 Oct 2013 05:46:28 -0000

This is a great post! Very inspiring!

Re: Who owns social media?

Stuart Bruce — Wed, 23 Oct 2013 04:04:23 -0000

I agree that no one side can claim to own social media - that's the argument of the post. And I also agree advertising can and should use social media. just as every discipline and department should be using it to achieve its objectives. My point is about who should lead and co-ordinate to ensure that this huge variety of activity creates benefit, rather than reputational damage. I don't really agree with the idea of lines blurring between advertising and PR, as ultimately advertising is about communication, where is public relations is about corporate behaviour and how it is communicated. I would agree that some of the channels and tools are blurring as PR has always been a channel neutral discipline using whatever it needs to (including paid for advertising), where as advertising has historically been mainly about paid media advertising.