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Public Relations on Facebook
- 1. Dos and Don’ts forConducting Successful Public Relations on Facebook
- 2. Do: Use Facebook to build a community of publics 2 way communications Develop client specific guidelines for employees on Facebook
- 3. Do: Integrate Facebook in clients’ corporate social responsibility initiatives Use Facebook for crisis communication
- 4. Don’t: Use Facebook in a defamatory or otherwise unethical manner Use Facebook to send spam
- 5. Don’t: Neglect Facebook format developments Neglect your client’s page
Editor's Notes
- That some of their public relations will be conducted on Facebook has become almost a generic expectation of clients in recent times. There are good reasons for this. However, there are ways and means to approach Facebook which will influence how effective your client’s experience with the medium can be. This presentation is aimed at briefly stepping you through some of the Dos and Don’ts of successful management of public relations on Facebook.
- Mouse Click.Firstly, despite the fact that you are aiming to engage in PR 2.0, the basic notions of public relations at any point in time should be remembered. That is, the building of relationships with publics (Kelleher 2007). Facebook offers the opportunity for clients to build a community of publics. Those publics may be linked to each other by different “real-world” networks, or they may never have met at all. However, in connecting with your client, those publics have some things in common. Mouse Click.It is important to draw on the interests that your clients’ networks have in common in order to enter into meaningful two-way relationship with them. After all, these are not only the publics that can form potential business for your clients, they may also be the first to tell you how to improve your public relations approaches.Mouse Click.Horror stories abound as to what can go wrong when a multitude of messages (such as from employees of a client) start becoming externalised in the public relations sense. That social media policies should be in place for clients is virtually a given. However, the content of the policy, particularly as far as Facebook is concerned, should not be too standardised, but rather, client specific. Options range from highly restrictive by prohibiting employees from mentioning work or their connection to the company on the personal profiles at all, to allowing employees to openly refer to their employer, their work environment and their dealings. It is perhaps obvious, in light of this, that depending on who your client is, they may fall at an given point on this spectrum. Very few clients who situate themselves at either end of the spectrum are likely to maintain their interests. Companies like Apple have suffered from overly strict policies with employees speaking out anyway, and on the flip side, confidential client material has been jeopardised in the absence of a sufficiently constructed set of employee guidelines (Marken 2008; Soder 2009). It is also important that any measures which allow employees to discuss their connections with the client in any arena are subject to public relations input via reference to the guidelines.Mouse Click.
- Mouse Click.Public relations strategies often involve some form of dissemination of information regarding clients’ community involvement. Facebook provides an opportunity for clients to make publics aware of the corporate social responsibility initiatives that they are involved with, without over emphasising the point and appearing condescending or boastful. Among the tactics through which organisations might engage in this sort of activity would be providing brief details of those partners whom they assist and links to their websites and, at strategic times (for instance, if the client was McDonald’s, in the lead up to McHappy Day, a message could be sent to contacts in the week before explaining the activities of the Ronald McDonald House Charity, the affiliation between the two, and indicate to contacts that they can help by purchasing a meal at McDonald’s on McHappy Day). Mouse Click.The use of Facebook by journalists, citizen journalists and everyday contacts alike renders it a medium which can provide immediate, one to many communication in the event of a crisis (Kelleher 2007, 129). The infrastructure which Facebook provides to do this includes status updates (if the client has a format as a page or a group), wall posts, and private messages which can be sent to contacts. These mechanisms can be the next best thing to pre-emptive action, and are a positive step in increasing public perception of a client’s transparency in their conduct.Mouse Click.
- Mouse Click.For some clients, social media can appear as though the rules of public relations do not apply, but it is vital that public relations professionals help them to avoid this trap. Among the greatest dangers are lapsing into unethical behaviour regarding defamatory comments about rival companies (Worley 2007). Public relations law is rich with examples of cases where defamatory material has not only cost clients their image, but has also had significant legal implications and media backlash, resulting in further damage to their relationships with publics (Parkinson & Parkinson 2006). It is therefore important that PR practitioners strictly remind those responsible for updating the client’s Facebook presence that the medium should always be used within the conventions and ethics of public relations.Mouse Click.It may seem obvious not to send spam to contacts on a social network. What may not, is the forms that spam can take in the context of Facebook. For instance, excessive status updates in fans’ newsfeeds and regular private messages may, in the eyes of the user, be synonymous with spam, even though the client may view them as meaningful contact. It may even be necessary to spend some time gauging what is and is not appropriate for particular publics and particular clients. Spam can alienate a client from its publics and make it appear just like any other entity vying for attention. Rather, PR specialists should remind clients that any communications through Facebook should, at all times, reflect that the company is genuine and unique, both in manner and matter.Mouse Click.
- Mouse Click.When the latest and greatest format developments seem to have all the bells and whistles, clients may wish to make the transition to a new Facebook format in an instant. However, format migration (for instance, from a group or profile to a page) is a process which should be weighed up in the context of the client’s prior use of the medium. It is not possible to merely shift members of a group into a fanbase for a page. Therefore, if sufficient relationship building has not occurred prior to this, a decision to change the format of a client’s Facebook presence could result in a loss of social capital when users choose not to re-connect with the client. Counselling clients through any decisions in regards to Facebook formats should always be a balanced exercise.Mouse Click.Finally, just as you would in a physical conversation with a group of people, make sure you keep it interesting. Do not neglect, or allow your clients to neglect pages. Facebook can be a trap for clients insofar as they design their page and then presume that the medium will do the work for them. Rather, the features available on Facebook ought to be exploited in terms of their relevance to the client. For instance, company Christams party photos may not be as relevant to post in an album for a law firms as Saturday night snaps can be for a nightclub. Upcoming events and corporate partnerships may be appropriate though. Failing to update a client’s page can leave the relationship with publics neglected too, so be sure to maintain both for the long haul. Mouse Click.Kelleher, T. 2007. Public relations online: Lasting concepts for changing media. California: Sage Publications. Marken, G. 2008. Is your communications policy mired in the past? Public Relations Quarterly 52(2): 14-16. http://proquest.umi.com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/pqdweb?index=3&did=1494423271&SrchMode=2&sid=7&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1256710154&clientId=14394 (accessed October 23, 2009).Parkinson, M., and L. Parkinson. 2006. Law for advertising, broadcasting, journalism and public relations: A comprehensive text for students and practitioners. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Soder, C. 2009. A plan for posting. Crain’s Cleveland Business 30(37). http://proquest.umi.com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/pqdweb?index=0&did=1879020071&SrchMode=2&sid=6&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1256710024&clientId=14394 (accessed October 23, 2009). Worley, D. 2007. Relationship building in an internet age: How organisations use web sites to communicate ethics, image and social responsibility. In New media and public relations, ed S Duhe, 145-158. New York: Peter Lang.