SOCIAL MEDIA AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
SOCIAL MEDIA AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
For those of us in the heart of the beast, public relations isn’t a social exercise or an academic debate – it’s business. And like all businesses, we focus on the bottom line. Lately, we’ve spent a lot of time discussing social media with prospects and clients, but the fact remains that very few are willing to spend any real money on social media. There’s a lot of talk, and publicly they say otherwise, but this AdAge article expressed the reality, and for me wasn’t a surprise at all. It reveals that, “three-quarters of those surveyed who knew their budgets said they allowed for $100,000 or less for social media tools over a 12-month period, according to the report.”
Less than $100K (which for most brands I bet is under $25K in reality) to manage twitter accounts, dabble on blogs, create Facebook pages, and tap all of the other various social media communities. Those budgets include agency fees, so how much work can a PR agency, or anyone for that matter, really do when budgets are that tiny?
Clients need to spend more – much more – on social media to succeed. We do have a number of clients for whom we have succeeded tremendously in this arena at low cost, but it does take some money. Here’s to hoping that brands don’t just do interviews lauding social media, but actually spend money on it, allowing for success.
Ronn Torossian
5WPR
