Recently I was elected to set up a Facebook, Twitter and Blogger site for one of my supervisor's clients, a non-profit organisation for women in local government. The purpose of these social networking sites is to connect, network and share with members and non-members across the state - as many local governments of WA are in regional and remote areas.
Whilst I was establishing these sites, and trying to affiliate with other mutually-beneficial organisations who shared the same interests as us, I began wondering - 'is facebook really essential for all organisations and businesses?' Without a clear purpose or goal in mind, there really is no telling what social media will do to your brand and its reputation - and no way to know whether your objectives have been achieved!
I found that many of ALGWA WA's members are most likely not members of Facebook and especially Twitter anyway, and if they are I don't think they are hugely 'active' members, and so I was a little confused about what I was trying to achieve with these sites if we were unable to connect with a large volume of members or potential members.
I can see that there are benefits to the organisation with a strong target market on social media that have a relevant stake in the organisation, but otherwise I really don't see the need for all businesses to be setting up social networking sites - what do you guys think?
I suppose only time will tell whether ALGWA (WA)'s social networking efforts will prove fruitful!
Until next time, enjoy your placements!
-Carmen
2 comments:
Hi Carmen,
You've brought up a really interesting question that I have often thought about myself! Is social networking a necessity for PR in all organisations?
I think many organisations are under the impression they need to keep up with the times and be involved in social media because it is the newest way to communicate to a potential mass audience. I think that social media should only be utilised when you can ensure the messages put across will reach key stakeholders, otherwise it will be just another message out there not reaching who you want it to. I think if the audience is tech-savvy and their is a high rate of social media usage then it is a great idea but if not, it could be a waste of time.
Have you had a lot of online traffic and feedback on the new social media sites you set up? Hope it is all going well!
Social media is used constantly at Sunset Events where I am doing my internship- and I think it works incredibly well in reaching many key stakeholders- especially staff and festival goers (customers). Skype, blogging, Facebook, Twitter- all the big names in social media are always being used! I think it works really well because a lot of the target demographic for our festivals use Facebook and Twitter, like Stereosonic, Southbound and Laneway.
I think you're right about social media being able to easily affect reputations of organisations! I think social media is good because it does allow that two-way communication so if there is a problem, it can be heard and responded to appropriately.
Sometimes people have written negative things on some of the festival Facebook pages I've noticed, such as for Southbound people were unhappy with time clashes and the new 18+ limit. However, it's good because you can see people's opinions and respond to them with an explanation, apology or whatever is appropriate because it is good to understand people's concerns.
I'd love to hear how the social media is going for ALGWA! Is there a lot of monitoring involved?
Hope it all goes well for the rest of your placement!
Best wishes,
Lisa
Hello Carmen,
yes i must say that you and Lisa do bring up very good points with regards to the purpose of social media and it's effectiveness.
Due to the digital age we're curently living in, so many companies have jumped onto the bandwagon and set up Facebook and Twitter accounts simply so as to keep up with all the rest who are doing so. Sometimes, nary a thought is given as to whether this strategy of implementing social media would be of effect and have the capability of reaching their overall goals, is it generally a case of ensuring that they do not lose out and of course, following the leader.
There are exceptions definitely, some companies have managed to reach out to a niche crowd of audience that they might not have had the opportunity to do so with the traditional approach, however, I feel that it should be on a case to case basis with companies taking serious considerations as to if it is even necessary to simply just "jump on board"
Anyway hope the two of your placements are going well, all the best!
Eliza
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