PRWeek/Diffusion Digital Integration Report: The digital divide

Arun Sudhaman, PR Week UK, 24 March 2010, 06:00am

Social media have become vital cogs in the wheels of PR, but how are clients embracing them? Arun Sudhaman finds out in the PRWeek/Diffusion Digital Integration Report.

Findings from a landmark PRWeek survey of 128 clients, drawn from across in-house comms, marketing and digital departments, reveal exactly how organisations are grappling with the challenge of integrating social media into their existing operations.

The Digital Integration Report should be required reading for anyone involved in comms. There has been much conjecture about what clients want from digital, but quantitative data is still difficult to come by.

It is easy to assume, for example, that the value of social media is well understood by clients. Almost two-thirds of respondents, accordingly, see digital PR and social media as 'a real comms and business opportunity'.

Yet nearly one-third of them say they are open-minded but need to see more hard evidence of their potential value.

Even if the strategic value is accepted, deciding on specific tactics can remain complex. Twitter, picked by three-quarters of respondents, is now the most widely used social media channel.

Surprisingly, a lower proportion (65 per cent) have employed social media monitoring. Diffusion MD Daljit Bhurji says: 'Social media monitoring, just from a pure reputation management perspective, should be as much a core service now as having a clipping agency.'

An overwhelming majority (90 per cent) believe social media should be integrated into traditional comms. Yet, when asked where responsibility should sit, the highest proportion (36 per cent) plumped for the marketing department.

At 34 per cent, PR departments followed close behind. 'If we are to avoid being crowded out by other marketing disciplines, PR needs to build on this and continue to be the loudest and most persuasive advocate for connected digital communication,' warns Bhurji.

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All Comments

AL CLARKE - 27 March 2010

One of the most useful insight reports this year, thanks PR Week.

I was in-house at Ferrari and previously SMMT but this was before such tools were around and so fall into the collective 40+% of those surveyed who have either not used social media, have only experimented with it or used on ad-hoc basis.

However, as a consultant I am now looking to bring solutions to my clients and I'd be very keen to hear about the experiences people have with the current social media monitoring software tools that are being used in this area - Radian6, Visible Technologies, TechRigy, Cymfony.. Anyone care to share?

Please email al@alclarke.com or let's talk here..

Kalyn Baldwin - 31 March 2010

Understanding where to "put" social media in a marketing or advertising agency can be as confusing as understanding how to use this marketing tool in the first place. If a hybrid, of both public relations and marketing, are created to work in step with social media, one will receive the best results. Coming from the perspective of someone who conducts social media strategies each day, I know my job would be irrelevant and lack strategy without the awareness of the public relations team and the strategic thinking of the marketing team.

Kalyn Baldwin

www.gcgmarketing.com

Paul Armstrong - 31 March 2010

Owning social media? \(sigh)

Arun Sudhaman - 13 April 2010

It sounds plain wrong for anyone to think they can 'own' social media...but it is important, I think, to understand where responsibility for the area lies within an organisation.

Pamela Munoz - 14 April 2010

This was an extremely useful and eye-opening podcast. How, though, does staff get management on board about integration? My company is currently on social media band wagon, which has fallen primarily on one person's shoulders - but integration seems like a foreign concept to management.

Daljit Bhurji - 14 April 2010

Glad you found the podcast and research useful Pamela. In general we find that a lack of integration exists when there is a lack of real understanding of social media and how it can impact and help specific departments or business functions. It's key for everyone to be in a position where they can think 'yes, this could be really useful to me' rather than something 'cool' the PR or marketing team are doing.