New Rules of Social Media and PR

Measure What Matters by Katie Paine described the rules of public relations and social media changing. This isn't the first time I have heard this. We live in a very different world than we did 10 years ago. Social media has changed everything. Katie Paine describes the new rules:

1. You're not in control.

2. There is no market for your message.

3. It's about reaching the right people.

4. You WANT to be talked about.

I think the most important rule in this new list is the fourth rule. Your company WANTS to be talked about. People are so used to things being bad if your company is being talked about. But customers talk about good things your company does too. Even if your company is being talked about in a negative light at least your customer's care enough about your company to talk about you. Katie Paine mentions that if your company is not being talked about it is hard to convince journalists that your company or product is newsworthy. It's important to spark conversation with your customers and customer to customer conversation as well.

If people are talking let them talk. And most importantly listen. If your customers are talking negatively about your company you can learn what they want to change. If they are talking positively about your company, keep listening. It is always a good idea to know what your company is doing to make your customer's happy.