In the last week I found myself in a few situations talking to people in industries that operate worlds away from one another and from age demographics at opposite ends of the spectrum. The conversations got me thinking about the various reasons we're asked to 'create online buzz' and what that looks like when buzz reaches the end of the line, and how it impacts public relations and communications strategies.
In one session last week a number of PR and marketing agency bosses exchanged tales of how business is being done nowadays, generally speaking. There were particular observations from opposite sides of the comms spectrum. At one end, people observed that deals were still being done with phone calls. Like that's particularly strange and is still going on.
At the other end, the observation that deals are being struck online on quick and dirty micro communications channels. Like hiring, buying and 'Twitching' over Twitter. Again this came as a big surprise to some, and as commonplace to others.
My final observation was on the reactions of a 20-year old who I had the pleasure of working with briefly this week when he was introduced to PR agency culture. He went to lengths to point out his surprise to see the attention to detail put into online communications. It seemed strange to hear that, but made complete sense.
What I find interesting to keep things grounded is that, when implementing communications strategy and tactics, you can never afford to miss an audience. And creating buzz in isolation is useless.
If your end target doesn't get that phone call, all the buzz won't count. At the same time, get your spread of coverage, get the phone ringing, but if people aren't passing your buzz about online or talking about your stuff down at the industry networking drinks, you miss a trick. Pay attention to detail, but acknowledge that the community you're in does not at all.
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