I recently participated in a PR News/Cision survey about social media regarding its use and how executives perceive and use this new bonanza of public outreach.

The results are in and, according to the survey, social media involvement is now considered a standard public relations practice. That doesn’t mean everyone wants it to be, however.

The more than 900 people who participated also “voiced a mixed bag of concern, skepticism and optimism over the value of the blogs and social networks that are currently being implemented within their organizations.”

That’s not really surprising considering many of the folks getting corporations involved in the online world weren’t even born when the executives approving the budgets were starting their career paths.

The most telling results were those to the question: “Overall, how valuable to corporate communications and outreach efforts are the corporate blogs or online forums you have created when compared to existing ones you visit/engage with?” Nearly 35% of respondents answered “too early/don’t know yet” and another quarter said they’ve never done this.

So more than half of the PR experts from corporations either aren’t involved in an online presence or don’t really know the value of being there once they’ve arrived.

You can’t help but wonder if there’s any correlation with surveys from years past whenever new technology sprung onto the scene. At some point, folks had to start dealing with radio, then TV and now digital TV.

Still, the revolution caused by the explosion of the Internet and the adaptation of new technology by the younger generations seems unparalleled. When will it stop? Hopefully never. Where will it lead? No one can know for certain.

What I can tell you is that corporations can’t bury their heads in the sand and think the online world isn’t going to impact them.

Many folks have heard about the Post-In Note Jaguar, where a group got together and decided to coat a friend’s car in colorful sticky notes. What you may not be aware of is what a public relations fiasco this turned into for 3M, manufacturer of Post-Its. They apparently contacted the guy in charge of the project and asked if they could use his photos for an advertising campaign. When he asked them what their budget was, they informed him they didn’t intend on compensating him for his work.

I think I can still hear him laughing.

What’s worse, 3M said, “Screw it, we’ll just make our own!” They then proceeded to create a marketing campaign based on the Post-It Note Car concept. We live in such a small world now, it didn’t take long for people to put two and two together and figure out what 3M did. They didn’t like it, and 3M spent a lot of time trying to undo this public relations gaffe.

Gee, weren’t Post-It Notes created when someone made a mistake while trying to accomplish something else?

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Article Tags: PR News | public relations | social media | survey

Filed under: Brand Extension, Digital Customer Service, Digital Marketing, New Marketing, Online Placement, Propaganda, Technology, Viral, social media