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In today’s guest blog Rachel Allen, head of communications at London Overground Rail Operations and one of PR Week’s “29 under 29″ takes a look at social media and internal communications 

Jon Clements asked me to write a guest spot here after reading my musings on my Diary of an internal communicator blog.

Earlier this year I wrote a dissertation on social media’s role in internal communication as part of a post-graduate diploma in Internal Communications Management. As this was an academic study I needed to ensure my references reflected this.

Step forward Twitter. This incredible site connected me with professional communicators who sent me their thoughts, blogs and shared sources. Fast forward to now and my dissertation is done, studying completed and graduation invite is on the fridge.

Here is a brief glimpse into some thoughts around social media’s role in internal communication.

There are seemingly endless invitations at the moment to social media seminars. Communicators are being deluged with ‘must-reads’ and ‘must-sees’ to help get buy-in at board level.

There’s certainly a lot of noise around, but what is the impact on internal communication? The key point for me is that social media is here. It has been for a while. It isn’t new anymore. Even if you don’t yet have a strategy in place within your organisation and even better have it linked to your internal communications, your employees are already using collaboration sites in their personal lives. This impacts internal communication as people are used to communicating in this way and expect to be able to do the same at work.

Love (2007) warns: “It’s important not to get caught up in the hype - new media won’t suit every person or organisation, in the same way traditional media aren’t fit for everyone.” However Love points out the impact it can have as being “often exceptionally useful with remote workforces. If you can harness it properly, blogs and wikis are often a great way to pull those people into a community”.

That’s exactly what internal communication is about - choosing and providing tools for employees to have two-way conversations.

According to a global Nielson (2009) report, social networks and blogs account for one of every 11 minutes spent online and UK-based mobile web users are most likely to visit a social network using a handset. So the frequent calls we see to ban access to sites such as Facebook seems naive as employees will always find a way.

Social networking offers employees the option to maintain relationships and have access to people at all levels all the time (aka horizontal networks). Communicators strive for this already. Herrero (2008) says that although we usually base communication processes around the formal structure of an organisation, that ‘this isn’t how influence spreads’. He says that 75% of interactions happen through horizontal communication and terms it ‘networkcracy’.

Social media provides ways for employees to interact, what benefit does that bring? Fraser (2009) says that: “When you have horizontal networks it’s a much more efficient way to find true expertise…outside and in all kinds of unlikely, unexpected places. Web 2.0 harnesses what is often called collective intelligence and the way you harness that is by going horizontally.”

Whether your communications go horizontally, vertically or any other direction, the key is the need for comms professionals to be aware of how employees are interacting and ensuring internal communication maximises that desire to share information.

So in a nutshell, I think social media’s role in internal communication should be kept simple. It s role is to help improve interaction between employees at all levels. I think it needs to be demystified and viewed as another tool in our toolbox to help employees communicate with each other and the outside world.

Sources:

Fraser,  Matthew and Dutta, Soumitra (2009). Quoted in Turning Social Networking on its head: where horizontal and vertical networks meet. International Business Times published 23 February 2009. (@frasermatthew)

Herrero Leandro, Dr. (2008). CEO of The Chalfront Project. Quoted in Melcrum (2008). Viral Communication in the Workplace. Practical new technologies for engaging employees and changing behaviours. Melcrum Publishing, London, UK.

Love, Helen (2007). Independent consultant and former Internal Communications Manager at Microsoft UK, quoted in How to use social media to engage employees (2007), Melcrum Publishing Limited. London, UK.

Nielson Co (2009). March 2009. Global Faces and Networked Places. A Nielson Report on Social Networking’s New Global Footprint. Published by Nielson.

War reporting - whether factual or literary - has an illustrious history with some big names dominating the battlefront, from Robert Capa in the Spanish Civil War and Edward Murrow in World War II to our own Kate Adie and Martin Bell covering more recent conflicts.

But now, through the advent of blogging technology - you know, that thing that turns punter into publisher overnight - stories from the front can come directly from the keyboards of those fighting the war.

Such is the case of Colour Sergeant Michael Saunders - featured in the above BBC clip - whose blog posts from Afghanistan are being posted physically by his sister, Tracey Tyrls, in the Worcester pub where she works.

Apparently the blogs are well read by the drinkers and, as one customer says, they really “brings home what day to day life is like” in Helmand province.

Clearly, the content of Sergeant Saunders’ blogs will be what the Ministry of Defence will consider fit to print, and rightly so when soldiers’ lives are on the line.

But this instance of communication is instructive for businesses too: having a blog that enables you to communicate from the front line of your business activities hands you the opportunity to talk to your customers in a way unfettered by traditional media. Not that media coverage of your press releases and commentary is undesirable - in fact, third party filtering of your company’s claims to fame by journalists can carry added credibility. But with a blog, your corporate voice has licence to have an authenticity, personality and candour that gives your business the human touch.

And, as in the case of Tracey Tyrls, why not share your blog posts in a physical form by sticking them up on the notice board - as not everyone working in UKplc is glued to a computer screen all day.

Valeria Maltoni over at the Conversation Agent blog has a useful summary of corporate blogging dos and don’ts, along with examples of corporate blogs to whet your literary whistle.

Think of it as part of your business’s battle plan where, mercifully, you are building and protecting your company’s reputation rather than dodging mortar fire.

Hello again and Happy New Year!

After a short hiatus, PR Media Blog is back on the beat.

And what better place to start than today’s Media Guardian, whch gives a pretty exhaustive forecast of the new world facing the media in 2009.

Here is a sample of the most interesting views from the massed media commentators. Have they got it right? PR Media Blog will be keeping an eye on things as the media circus rolls on into another year.

“Leading web thinker” Clay Shirky with his media forecast for 2009: “Newspapers are going to get more and less elitist…a small, niche publication that says: ‘We’re only opening our mouths when what we say is demonstrably superior to anything else on the subject.’ The populist model is: ‘We’re going to take all the news pieces we get and have an enormous amount of commentary. It’s whatever the readers want to talk about.”

Gareth McClean on TV programmes: “As money becomes scarce, ratings will become more important…drama finds itself under siege from light entertainment - and factual entertainment and anything else that’s cheaper, which is basically everything - like never before.”

John Plunkett on Radio: “If ever there was a time for commercial radio to strike back in the ratings war, then surely this is it…expect more commercial stations to go to the wall, expect BBC radio to be less sure of itself, expect uncertainty over DAB to continue - expect a bloody battle.”

Roy Greenslade on newspapers: “The importance of online journalism cannot be stressed too often. It is foolish to call it the future because the future is now…the fight that counts in 2009 is the one for online eyeballs seeking news and informed comment, not for the passive audience handed a freesheet with the minimum of journalistic merit or public benefit.”

Peter Wilby on journalism: “Mass market journalism - short, snappy news items alongside gossip, glamour and articulate prejudice - is by definition doomed…serious journalism will triumph by default.”

Oliver Luft on magazines: “Business publishers may look at greater innovation online to find revenue that goes beyond the blunt approach of either subscription or open access…consumer titles will focus on ways to deliver more audience to print advertisers they want to bring over to the web.”

Danny Rogers on PR: “PR helps organisations create ongoing dialogue with their audiences. The growth of blogs, social networking and Google made this essential if today’s companies, products, governments, celebrities and charities were to impress and thrive. And despite the current recession, this underlying trend remains.”

Jemima Kiss on Digital media: “One of the most powerful technology trends of 2008 was the shift from sites as destinations to open, sharing platforms…Big media needs to start thinking like this…it’s about being resourceful and flexible in order to survive.”

Last night’s inaugural meeting of Manchester’s Social Media Cafe (#smc_mcr) suggested that the “death of the blog” has been greatly exaggerated.

And not only is blogging very much alive, it has graduated from the perceived image and PCs of young men whose bedrooms are adorned with model aircraft.

Craig McGinty, journalist, blogger on This French Life and panellist on the #smc_mcr’s first debate, described a blog as an online “base camp”: “It’s important that you have your own entity on the Internet,” he said. “You’ve got the opportunity to get an audience without going through the gatekeepers of newspaper editors and all it takes is time.” At a more fundamental level, McGinty feels that blogging is just the latest emodiment of a basic human need to communicate, which began with cave paintings. “The only difference is the tools,” he added.

Fellow panellist, Chi-chi Ekweozor, MD of real fresh tv, cited renowned blogger, Robert Scoble’s use of blogging and social media to “meet one new person every day”. Clearly, a bigger task than is possible in the offline world, unless you have hours to kill and walk quickly.

But what about corporate blogging? Is there room for social media activity with professional funding and - potentially - an underlying agenda to sell? Chi-chi Ekweozor has been monitoring the FTSE100 for such activity, and while there are good examples of blogs at work  the UK’s major companies still lag behind the USA, where CEOs have readily taken up the blogging mantle.

But she sees a future for corporate blogging, “for communicating with staff and establishing credibility” with the wider world.

So, it’s agreed: both boardrooms and bedrooms will continue to hum with the creation of blogs and interaction with social media tools such as Twitter, but still leaving time to finish assembling that scale model of Concorde. 

P.S. Keep watching PR Media Blog for exclusive interviews from the Social Media Cafe event.

With so much doom hanging over the economy, who would you expect to be doing well?

No surprises then that Google has posted outstanding third quarter figures, with revenues up 31% to a dizzying £3.2bn (though dwarfed by bank handouts from you and I) and profits up 26%.

And everyone’s favourite search engine is now providing 63% of online searches in the USA (August figures), which is double that of its closest competition.

Which somewhat supports Jeff Jarvis’ notion on Buzz Machine that the “Google economy is just different”.

Jarvis says that Google typifies the “small-is-the-new-big” economy in which the myriad of advertisers of all sizes using its services now adds up to a critical mass. This mirrors the inter-relationship between Google and online communities, whereby Google recognises the critical mass of activity generated by social media, including blog posts, user-generated comments, content sharing and bookmarking sites such as Digg, etc.

If people you need to reach are using the Internet to research before they buy or make decisions about something, the equation is this:

a) The majority of people are using Google to search the Internet.

b) Google’s techno wizardry ranks quality online destinations according to their level of activity and interactivity.

c)  Therefore, you might need to include some form of social media activity as part of your communications.

To paraphrase the old Clinton campaign slogan, it’s the Google economy, stupid!

And, on the topic of Peter Mandelson’s return to Government, it wasn’t long before the knives were out.

Already, the Tories are accusing the new business minister of stage managing his return to the department, with hooting supporters suitably placed for maximum effect. Of course Mandelson denied it, but the Prince of Darkness, architect of SPIN, will be a difficult reputation to shift.

SPIN - that concept feels like it belongs to the era when the Milennium Dome seemed like a great idea. Yet it’s become part of the lexicon, to the point where I hear people in companies talking about how they’d like to “spin it” this way or that. Maybe they don’t mean “spin” in its purest sense; but it’s still a dangerous place from which to start your communications campaign.

The Oxford Dictionary defines spin, rather politely, as “a favourable bias given to a news story”. Journalist and broadcast, Andrew Marr, was somewhat more blunt, calling it “Evasion, truth-shaving, manipulation, bullying.”

Whether you’re pushing a sexed-up WMD dossier to justify invading a country, or a new product launch, spin is best avoided. Resorting to it would suggest a cover up of something that won’t withstand scrutiny. Unfortunately, there is always someone willing to scrutinise and find you out,  which risks harming your reputation.

And today, with the spread of social media, it gives voice to many, many more people scrutinising and - potentially - lampooning your claims in cyberspace forums and blogs, which have a habit of showing up in Google searches.

Mandelson might be back, but some of the tactics he pioneered should be confined to history. Let DJs do the spinning.

The world of blogging, or should I say the Blogosphere, has had a thorough sifting and analysis thanks to leading blog search engine, Technorati. And some of the conclusions should add something to marketing departments’ “to do” lists.

The graph below shows the impact that blogging has had on professional and corporate bloggers, with the main benefit to businesses being a higher industry profile.

A good example of corporate blogging well done has to be that of Sun Microsystems’ CEO, Jonathan Schwartz, who manages to have a respectable blog “authority level” - that is the number of other blogs linking to your blog - without compromising the company’s image.

Social media expert, Chris Brogan, is one commentator who has lauded Schwartz’s blog for making the company appear human and having that extra, indefinable sheen that goes beyond pounds and pence.

Following on from a recent post about how some professional journalists in the US are adopting a different model online in order to survive, this latest departure in web journalism takes it down to an even more local level, with MyBallard being an online news service for a neighbourhood of Seattle.

Still, the couple behind it are life-long professional journalists, which raises the question of how good a news service as opposed to a blog - any news service - would be if there were no professional journalistic input.

 Maybe the demise of journalists has been greatly exaggerated?

Our friends at TBWA\ have shared with us the latest data on social media usage, showing a growth in social networks as an online destination. About 70% of ”silver surfers” (that’s people over 50, not a lonely, Marvel comic character hanging out in the galaxy) log on daily to social networking sites while teens and tweens are the main consumers and content creators. 

One stat - showing that 35% of teenage girls blog compared with 20% of teenage boys, while boys are twice as likely to post video online than girls (19% vs 10%) - throws an interesting light on the girls vs boys intelligence debate. Are girls simply more literate and better at stringing together sentences than boys? Do boys like the ape-like simplicity of going “video - good! - upload”?

All I can say, ladies, is “one picture tells a thousand words”, rather like what the one above says about men.