Online reputation management has transplanted media relations as for diffusing or cleaning up a person or brand’s image. Marketers and business owners have seen portions of their advertising budgets channeled to this emerging online public relations strategy, which banks on conversations of internet citizens about trends.
More companies are growing more social media-conscious as social networks have evolved into platforms for advertising and word-of-mouth generation. Facebook and Twitter have developed their internal intelligence to track trends. Hashtags and “Like” pages have taken the mouthpiece from standard public relations and now generate the talk.
It’s Not Just Networking
If there’s anyone more conscious of the impact of these new reputation management tools, it’s the p.r. agencies. While social networks are easy, accessible tools, managing them demands strategy and real-time monitoring. Pushing the conversation is a tedious task, something that must be left to tech-savvy and up-to-date individuals with a gregarious online presence.
Public relations agencies have captured the tone that sets off the most viral social media campaigns. The massive audience these campaigns generate expands the brand and spreads its identity. Outside of business, celebrities such as Hollywood insiders, athletes, and politicians have created the platform – not just to keep their brand clean, but to converse with their followers.
The NBA Social Media Awards 2013 was one such p.r. triumph. The awards were given to NBA players whose basketball performance was much talked about online, as well as those who’ve used their social media presence to elevate their personal brand to another level. With most NBA fans plugged in to social media sites as they increase their enjoyment of the games, watching sports has become a personalized experience. Fans freely weigh in about their favorite plays, moves, and players. And given the bleacher tempers simmering online, the conversations were bound to become heated. This is the very energy The NBA Social Media Awards aimed to capture off-court.
The New Search Marketing
That social media gimmick was also a way for players to boost their marketability. Players collected more online fans, as if their global popularity wasn’t enough. Plays were scrutinized and annotated. Trivia pinged in all directions. The TV could only capture so much, so social media stepped in to make another universe out of home-court loving. Celebrities are in the business in order to generate talk. It’s one thing to substantiate celebrity through real-life performance; it’s quite another to leave online traces of their legend – otherwise, they might as well be batting for their mere 15 minutes.
Brands could be prone to the same ephemeral fate. Without a constant reminder of their standout qualities, products become generic commodities over time, especially as competition sets in. The best brands are those that can seize their fame and turn it into a conversation, one spiked with something new each time.