Have You "Friended" a Journalist Today?

Are social networks the next frontier of media relations?  Based on conversations with a number of PR colleagues, most that I know are still feeling their way around and erring on the side of caution, which goes to show that we are not all opportunistic pitching machines.

Protocols are evolving with no clear cut rules.  What it means to be a friend on social networks, and the etiquette of "friending" - these topics are still very much up for discussion. 

Also, there is the effect that "the machine," i.e. technology has on us... see my earlier post about how it is in some ways changing the nature of friendship and relationships.

Journalists have said time and again that their preferred mode of interaction with PR people is to build trusted relationships that result in the productive exchange of info over the long term.

So what better forum to burnish PR / journo relations than these forums? Regardless of profession, people are increasingly taking to the social networks to make connections and get the info they need.

Despite the lack of clear cut rules of engagement, I think there are some general rules of thumb that we can all do well by heeding:

Consider the mores of the specific social networks you frequent; some might be more appropriate for professional relationships and others all about "fun."

So, get to know the social networks you are interested in, first and foremost listen and watch and learn, and build out your profile, explore functionality and how people engage.

Avoid gratuitously requesting friending - the best standard is that if the journalist recognizes your name and has had positive experiences with you then it is fair game to engage.  Otherwise, if they are obviously seeking information or sources that you can help with, sure, why not.

The topic of social networking and PR seems to be very much on people's minds, here are a couple of posts I caught today:

Brendan Cooper's post If Social Networking is PR the Revenues will Show it referenced Sir Martin Sorell's (head of advertising giant WPP) comment that PR revenues are growing due to social networking and the Web, and also observed:

Put bluntly, social media isn't an adjunct to PR - it  is PR, or will be before long.

In Good Use  of Social Networking Sites in Business, Harry Chen blogged about an entry from another site in which the commenter observed that social networks have become a kind of portable contact management system and PR machine:

I’m feeling pretty empowered, because on the day I launched my new company, about 800 key contacts in my network were immediately notified when I updated my profile. It was better than a press release, because the people who really mattered were the ones that were first informed.

Comments

[Louis Gray]

100% agree.

In parallel with your note, last month I said reporters should be working with the social networks like LinkedIn to get a leg up as well.

LinkedIn Is a Paradise for Smart Reporters
http://www.louisgray.com/live/2007/10/linkedin-is-paradise-for-smart.html

[rgeller]

Thanks for commenting and sharing, Louis.

You might also want to take a look at my previous post, in which I describe an experiment in beat reporting via social networks involving reporters at major and regional dailies.