Which New Social Media Should You Use?

I've recently attended presentations on social media at which presenters have given the ever increasing list of social media. In virtually every presentation, someone has asked how to choose which social medium to use, when there are so many available.

The best way I know of to determine the best media to use to reach a given stakeholder group is to ask that group which media they use. This is no different for social media than it is for advertising or PR. And though there still are many ideas regarding how best to evaluate the effectiveness of social media, determining which social media stakeholders use is as simple as surveying them.

I refer you again to Groundswell, the excellent book by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff. They note the importance of gathering "Social Technographics," or information on a target audience's social media habits. Which social media they use? How engaged are they in social media (do they blog, do they post comments, do they lurk, do they not even follow)?

However, I strongly urge you to build a complete media profile. Do not to stop with these "Social Technographics." Ask general media questions regarding stakeholder use of newspapers, magazines, television and radio. Ask where they would expect to find or look for the kind of information you would like to share with them. You may learn it likely will be more effective to use traditional media.

It also is critical that you not do an online survey, unless you have strong reason to believe your entire target group is online (e.g. CIOs or CTOs of hi-tech companies). Use a telephone or mail methodology so you don't mistakenly "learn" everyone you talk to is using the Internet, when in fact, you have only surveyed the members of your stakeholder group who are.

What traditional media cannot do is create the kind of engagement and interaction that is unique to social media. So, if your goal is that kind of interaction, you may wish to look for a way to use social media. The point I'm trying to make is: it won't work if your stakeholders aren't there.

However, you may hypothesize the people you want to reach are likely to use a specific social medium in the near or longer-term future. The research you do may suggest your audience is moving in this direction. In that case, you may want to commit resources to using that medium, but be aware that you are anticipating your audience rather than meeting it.

Another Way To Use Media Evaluation For Planning

MetLife and Echo Research won the 2009 Jack Felton Golden Ruler Award for excellence in public relations measurement and evaluation. This award identifies great examples of research and measurement integrated into public relations practice. IPR publishes winners as case studies on the Institute's website (www.instituteforpr.org).
This entry, "The Media Reality Check: A New Approach to Content Analysis" is somewhat unlike past entries in that it used media analysis as a starting- rather than an end-point. You can find the entry at: http://www.instituteforpr.org/files/uploads/JFGRAMetLifeandEchoResearch.pdf.

CHALLENGE
MetLife believed its messages about Annuities, Long-Term Care Insurance and Life Insurance were not being accurately and completely reported. This concerned the company because it felt that without complete and accurate information, consumers were less able to make informed decisions about these products.

SOLUTION
To determine whether or not MetLife was correct in this perception, it commissioned Echo to analyze the "message accuracy" of MetLife coverage of these three topics. Echo assessed message accuracy by quantifing:

1. The accuracy of basic facts,
2. The number of misstatements
3. Omissions of basic facts

Echo calls this approach "The Media Reality Check." They limited the media analysis to a set of publications MetLife considers to be particularly influential.

METLIFE POSITION SUPPORTED
Echo found the overwhelming majority of articles on the three topics of interest omitted a number of basic facts and included a number of misstatements. For example, 94% of the articles they examined on life insurance had at least one error or omission in their reporting on the topic. And omissions of facts were present more than errors. While 32% of the articles contained a misstatement of fact, 88% omitted a basic fact.

SOLUTION BASED ON RESEARCH RESULTS
MetLife has communicated this information to editors and reporters who follow these topics for key media. In followup measurement studies, not only has MetLife's coverage gone up, but also the accuracy of reporting. To me, this is a great case, because it focuses on how an organization can use research and measurement not just to evaluate, but to understand and assess (and in this case even quantify) a situation and use this information to develop a solution. Congratulations to MetLife and Echo Research for an innovative use of research to manage a communications challenge.

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Thanks very much for reading. If you have questions you'd like me to address, or other topics you'd like me to write about, please let me know.

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I work with organizations going through a change in strategic direction (merger, acquisition, building program, new product launch, change program, etc.) and that are concerned about what will happen with their relationships with key stakeholders (customers, employees, investors) if they send out the wrong, or confusing, messages. After working with me, my clients have a clear understanding of what their messages should be. I also provide them recommendations on other actions they can take to enhance their relationships with stakeholders.

I also work as a PR and communications research director for hire for agencies and other organizations.

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The Institute for Public Relations, (IPR) is dedicated to the "science beneath the art" of PR. It focuses on PR research and education. If you are interested in the topics I write about, you will almost certainly be interested in IPR. You can find it at http://www.instituteforpr.org/. While you're there, check out the Essential Knowledge Project at http://www.instituteforpr.org/essential_knowledge/.

Best wishes,

Forrest

Forrest W. Anderson
Founding Member
Institute for Public Relations
Commission on PR Measurement and Evaluation

Primer on Social Media Evaluation

Excellent primer on social media evaluation from Don Bartholomew: http://www.iabc.com/cwb/archive/2009/1009/Bartholomew.htm.