The Digital Impact Conference, “Building Knowledge, Skills and Value for the New Decade,” put on by the PRSA, aims to educate public relations professionals on an increasingly important and accessible aspect of our industry – digital innovation.
The conference, scheduled for May 5-6 in New York City, will expose many opportunities in which communicators can take the lead in digital innovation. These include brand positioning, increasing revenue, mobile marketing and e-commerce, analytics and measurement, and social media relations and community building. I am fortunate enough to be speaking alongside Paul at this great event in a presentation titled, “Beyond Your Zappos Case Study: B2B Social Media Strategies for the Rest of Us.”
Wednesday’s “Tweet Chat” showcased how PR pros can best utilize digital techniques and tactics, and was an excellent opportunity to preview some of the insight and expertise that will be shared at the Digital Impact Conference, as well as virtually “meet” some of the folks who are also presenting and/or attending.
“Tweet Chats” and “Tweet-ups” have become increasingly popular ways for social media and public relations pros to connect with one another in a planned, organized setting that focuses on one particular topic. For example, those participating in the Digital Impact Conference Tweet Chat knew to end their tweets with #PRSADIConf, and those following along knew to open a search column with this hashtag. (I know, I know, I am now engaging in social media geek-speak.)
Well, being the social media geek that I am, I can say I have participated in my fair share of “Tweet Chats” and honestly, they can be hit or miss. Sometimes you have an insightful group of participants bringing fresh ideas and concepts to the table (or the Tweet), and other times your self-proclaimed “gurus” take over the chats and fill them with a lot of meaningless jargon related to social media.
The Digital Impact Conference Tweet Chat was one of the best I have participated in in quite some time. It was fast-paced enough to keep me on my toes while participating and observing the insights shared in my #PRSADIConf Tweetdeck column; but the participants were a knowledgeable enough group that the tweets provided either informative answers or thought-provoking questions from young PR pros looking to learn.
Elizabeth Albrycht (@ealbrycht), one of the Digital Impact Conference Co-Chairs, served as the chat moderator. She led chat participants in an organized, open forum, discussion of digital innovation in public relations by raising questions and opening the floor for answers, all marked by the #PRSADIConf hashtag.
You can view the complete transcript from the #PRSADIConf Tweet Chat on the PRSA Digital Impact Conference website to see what everyone had to say, but below I am going to offer some of my favorite answers to each question:
Q1: How can #PR pros demonstrate to skeptics #SM’s value? #prsadiconf
Response: @msbruschetta Q1 Help your #SM skeptic set some attainable goals. Reaching them truly demonstrates the value of this tool! #PRSADIconf
Q2: How does B2B #SM differ from B2C #SM? #PRSADIconf
Response: @paulfuriga: Q2 B2B #SM is more about direct link to sales, B2C is more about brand affinity #prsadiconf
*Ok, I know I chose Paul here, but his response does a great job of summing up the big social media customer difference between B2B and B2C companies!
Q3: What are a few go-to tactics smaller orgs can use to increase awareness? #prsadiconf
Response: @riaglo Empower existing employees/volunteers to be org reps online – have then share and build something larger than yourself #PRSADIconf
Q4: What strategies do you recommend to ID top influencers in your industry & build relationships? #prsadiconf
Response: @msbruschetta: Q4 Do *not* rely exclusively on @klout. Quality tweets, engaging with followers, etc. are the keys. #PRSADIconf
Q5: How can social & mobile tech help facilitate better crisis response? #PRSADIconf
Response: @omgitsamr A5) social/mobile good for monitoring 24/7 – if crisis happens outside of 9-5 you need to know! #PRSADIConf
Q6: A good offense is the best defense. So, how can #PR pros protect their orgs from digital “brandjacking?” #prsadiconf
Response: @pgillin: Q6: If your brand is hijacked, acknowledge it and try to talk more than the hijacker. #prsadiconf
A self-referential Q7: Why is it important for #PR pros & orgs to participate in tweet chats?
Response: @FuriaRubel: Q7 Connect with new audiences, build relationships and network, gain followers, & learn new things! #PRSADIconf
Q8: What new apps or tools have recently caught your attention and why? #prsadiconf
Response: @omgitsamr A8) @Crowdbooster is great twitter analytics/insights #PRSADIconf
Q9: What are you looking forward to at this year’s #PRSA Digital Impact Conference in NYC? #prsadiconf
Response: @shw72388 A9: Eager to hear more about how mobile is going to play a role; area that seems to be growing and I want to learn more about! #PRSADIConf
*That’s me!
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Samantha Wannemacher is an account executive for WordWrite Communications. You can find her on Twitter @shw72388.
