The Social Media Hustle

A lot of the recent Facebook “friend requests” I’ve received have been from folks hailing from intergalactic PR agencies … but not from the “traditional” side (they often assure me), but from these firms’ newly-formed “Social Media Divisions.”

I think it’s a mistake to separate your so-called Social Media specialists from the rest of your PR agency staffers. If anything it is more critical than ever for our industry to have a holistic perspective on the ever-more-incestuous interplay of Social Media and Mainstream Media.

I think most agency heads know this, by the way … which makes me sad, because it would mean that the so-called separation of disciplines is really a cynical marketing ploy. (Which would mean that PR pros would deserve the licking we’ve been getting with regard to being exploitive, blockheaded flacks.)

I asked my Twitter pals what they thought about this issue, a couple of weeks ago. Most tended to agree: the separation is wrong, and wrong-headed.

That doesn’t mean that there is no room for approaches other than the holistic way. For our part, we talk about Social Media principles all the time, across the agency. Additionally, we’ve got a “PR 2.0 Taskforce” comprised of folks who also work within “traditional” teams.

I see this “separation of powers” issue as a bit of a test for our industry. You can use the opportunity presented by Social Media to listen and interact and learn, or you can use the opportunity to hustle the uninitiated for more money.

The long-term winners will open their ears before they open their palms.

Continue reading here: Will Social Media Help PR Weather the Storm?

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