This is part 2 of a 3 part series on the 2010 Florida Public Relations Association (FPRA) Annual Conference. We’re highlighting some of the primary sessions offered as part of the 4 day event held in Naples, Florida.

Hallett's "social media meat grinder" - what goes in, goes out... to the customer

Social Media in the Trenches & Across the Globe

Presentation and Slides By: Josh Hallett of Voce Communications & Hyku

Representing the likes of Disney Parks, Playstation, CBS, Yahoo!, ebay, Intel and my personal favorite – the NFL, Voce Communications and Josh Hallett know what they are talking about in terms of social media.

One of the sessions that stood out right away for me, I was looking forward to hearing Hallett’s thoughts on measurement implications and strategies for social media in the public relations landscape. He didn’t disappoint.

Every plan or effort in business (and life, really) should have a strategy. Social media is no different and, as we’ve been hearing a lot of recently, listening is key – from the beginning. Hallett emphasized that doing a conversation audit and asking the questions in the beginning can help secure a strong direction for social media endeavors. However, the listening shouldn’t stop there. We must, as communication professionals, listen at all times and respond to queries, issues, comments, etc.

In the timetable below, Hallett discussed an example plan for implementing the strategy. It doesn’t all have to be done at the same time. In fact IT SHOULDN’T. Starting at a manageable pace and measuring along the way ensures your social media efforts can be sustained. Get bogged down or behind in the beginning and the plan is likely to be ditched – by your team or your boss.

Use a timeline to plan out additions to your strategy and test/measure.

Getting the material out involves the “4 Ps”:

• Preparation – discovery and planning (calendar, editorial content, etc.)
• Publishing - the actual sending out of material (use the network efficiently & consider “shelf life” – Twitter is seconds, Facebook a little longer, blog longer, etc. Don’t forget our cross contamination concept either!)
• Participating - watching, flaggin and responding (this would be where you listen & engage, remember that part?)
• Performance – measuring and more measuring (Web analytics, engagement through likes & comments, sentiment PLUS revenue, authority & share of voice/market)

Getting started in measurement:

• Set measurable goals
• Align measurement tools
• Stats tracking sheets
• Benchmarking
• Report frequency
• Measure, rinse, repeat

As Hallett referred to and Deirdre Breakenridge noted, measures and communication are changing. Our methods and tools are changing and the audience is in control. The old measures aren’t as valid. We don’t have to throw them out completely, but new tools should be introduced and utilized too.

Hallett’s “Blender Model for Measurement”:

• OLD
  • Traffic
  • Circulations
  • Hits
  • Placement
  • Message Penetration
  • Delayed Response
  • Spread
• NEW
  • Links
  • Subscribers
  • Posts
  • Search Listings
  • Word of Mouth
  • Instant Response
  • Velocity
• PLUS
  • Share of Voice / Influence (results on search)
  • SEO (ranking in search, page ranks, key wording)
  • Risk Avoidance
  • Audience Value
  • Conversions/Sales
  • Efficiencies/Comparisons
  • Insights

Social Media programs are multifaceted... Be sure to take this into account.

Measurement TOOL Recommendations:

Some are pricier than others, some are free and some aren’t for you. Consider the size of your company, budget and involvement in the medium before moving forward with any of these.

• Radian6 (sentiment)
• CoTweet (Twitter management of multiple accounts – FREE)
• Google docs (excellent for team collaboration – FREE)
• Yammer (more team & client collaboration, no email needed)
• WordPress (blogging – paid & FREE options)
• Flickr (photo sharing – FREE)
• Viddler (video sharing with branding & analytic options)
• YouTube (video sharing with branding options, limited analytics – FREE)
• Ping.FM (content automation – FREE)
• Spredfast (content automation)
• Bit.ly (link shortening & tracking – FREE)
• Tiny.cc (link shortening & tracking – FREE)
• Google Analytics (Website traffic tracking – FREE)

What tools are you using? What plans have worked for your company or are you considering for the future?