On November 20, 2009, more than 100 PR and marketing professionals participated at the New York debut of PR Camp New York at the 92 Street Y in Tribeca. The goal of the one-day event was to share experiences, address problems and identify strategies to tackle social media issues that are facing PR and marketing professionals.

Here is the second of five key takeaways from the day’s discussions:

2. Social Media is Storytelling

It’s true that social media is blurring traditional boundaries and responsibilities. But put PR and marketing professionals in the same room, and it is clear that legitimate differences in expertise and perspective persist.

At its heart, PR is still about storytelling and relationship building.  But where once there was a single messenger with a controlled message, we are now confronted with new ways to tell our story. Traditional press releases with a beginning, middle and end are just one tool in a communications arsenal. They are not going away, but we now must contend with blogs, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. And there are plenty of other smaller or more narrow focus Social Networks or sub-nets (Twitter Lists) to consider for targeting the message.

The most successful practioners understand social media storytelling is not linear, is independent of news cycles, has multiple authors and resides on a variety of platforms.  What we lose in control, we gain in distribution and engagement.

Consider Facebook. The average Facebook user has about 130 friends. Multiply those friends by the number of fans on your brand page, and you have dramatically increased the potential reach and power of your story. These friends are your network of potential storytellers.  Their comments, videos and pictures are part of your story.  The goal is to use these story elements in concert to advance your message and understand that your story will go in directions that you never intended.

Let me get back to you.

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