By Debbie Friez
Develop a strategy and stick to your core mission was the advice from an expert panel on Facebook at the National Capital Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America’s (PRSA-NCC) professional development seminar on March 10 at the Navy Memorial and Heritage Center. More than 100 people registered for the session and the panel included:
• LTC Gerald Ostlund, Social and New Media, US Army Reserve (@Oates86)
• Michael McManus, Director of Public Relations, Sodexo, Inc. (@sodexoUSA)
• Terry Poltrack, Director of Public Relations and Communications, American Society of Landscape Architects (@landarchitects)
• Gloria Huang, Social Media Specialist, American Red Cross (@riaglo)
• Carie Lewis, Director of Emerging Media, Humane Society of the US (@cariegrls)
(Pictured above are Jeff Ghannam, president of PRSA-NCC, and Aaron Cohen, director of media and digital communications at MS&L PR. Cohen moderated the Facebook session.)
During the session, Huang stressed Facebook is a great way to connect people with each other. The American Red Cross uses Facebook to connect their fans to the various Red Cross lines of service, such as blood donations or disaster relief. She can’t imagine what would be said if they were not active on Facebook, which allows them to respond to stories.
When the American Society of Landscape Architects decided to launch a new website page on sustainable landscapes, they pushed out the information in segments through various forms of communications. They found Facebook and LinkedIn announcements brought the third-best number of page views, after an e-mail newsletter article and an alert by their local chapters.
The Humane Society of America has strategically decided to have one fan page. Under that there are several group pages for various interests, campaigns and states. Additionally, they have several Facebook causes for various movements, like their campaign, Stop Puppy Mills. Lewis stresses to HSUS employees that Facebook profiles are meant for real people, and each person should only have one profile.
Sodexo chose to use Facebook as their main social media hub. Since the company works on many college campuses, they found a majority of their customers were already using the site. When they needed to respond to a crisis, they researched their goals and decided to stay positive with their PR outreach. Their response included positive Facebook ads touting careers and scholarships.
Show a story with a face is the central theme of the Army Reserve’s overall communication program, which includes Facebook. Colonel Ostlund encouraged attendees to let the picture tell the story by using lots of photos and raw, real video. He used an example where they posted professionally created video and video from a Flip camera. The non-professional video received many more views.
(Photos by Sam Kittner (www.kittner.com).