Corporate communication 'should harness social media'

Saturday 01st of March 2008

Professionals using corporate communication, such as PR agencies and event management companies, should use social media to their advantage, it has been suggested.

A survey sponsored by TNS Media Intelligence/Cymphony suggested senior marketing executives in the UK, France, Canada and the US believe social media is here to stay.

Half of those polled suggested social media sites such as Facebook and blogs are a "vital component" of corporate communications.

They also claimed such media should be monitored by executives and should be allocated "significant" resources.

Jim Nail, TNS Media Intelligence/Cymfony chief strategy and marketing officer, suggested social media, if used correctly, could have many benefits for those working in corporate communications.

He suggested social media could help support product launches, increase customer loyalty and build brand awareness.

"Surprisingly, however, our study shows that many business executives are still new to social media," Mr Nail added.

He said this "large gap between attitudes and action" should be addressed.

Some PR companies, such as webitpr, have already embraced social media. One of the products by webitpr is a social media news release (SMNR).

Aimed at journalists and bloggers, the SMNR offers multimedia content for sharing on blogs, social networks and websites, according to the webitpr site.