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At CBC we have been using online PR, also called Social Media, for several of our clients for some time now, so I went along to a Social Media Master Class to see if there were any new aspects that we should consider integrating and to pick up any "not to be missed" opportunities. The course was held by Graham Lee from the Social Media Library , an online PR and Social Media specialist who has not only delivered many successful campaigns for big names, but also has set up one of the first specialist online PR agencies.
The course was very interesting and addressed a lot of different aspects of Social Media which CBC is already using, but also many others, such as videos and widgets, which we have not used out of cost reasons so far. Although some approaches (such as hiring a script writer and a top-notch music video producer) are just not feasible for us, as we are committed to offering a cost-effective service to our clients, it was still interesting to learn about them and sparked a whole load of creative ideas in my mind, for related approaches that we can use to promote our clients without say spending a fortune on a producer, and ideas and tips which I will hastily share with the rest of our team...
As always, a dedicated training day like this is not just stimulating with regards to the content but also interesting to meet the other attendees and learn about their own experiences. The majority seemed to be from the big UK agencies, with six figure client budgets. Had we not already been using Social Media for clients, I might well have been a bit intimidated by the size of budgets that were mentioned, but whether you choose to use offline PR or online PR, I know that you just need to be creative and cost-effective and use what methods fit your client best. It’s not that I don’t see the point in creating a video and a micro site to support the product launch of a client, but the reality is that many companies these days are just not prepared to sign off the extra budget, especially if it won't hit their target audiences.
One thing I do realise is that PR basics are the same offline and online. Research, journalist contact and building relationships will always be a big part of PR no matter if it’s online and involves Blogs, Twitter and Facebook or offline PR for which you can simply pick up the good old phone. Your Social Media approach has to fit to your client and their budget and it’s our job at CBC as PR experts to be creative and organised to make it work.