Rodger Roeser on Social Media |
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Interview with Rodger Roeser, President, Eisen Marketing Group. Editor's Note: When Laura Day, responding to our call for comment on the issue of social media, told us "I’d like to offer up an expert in social media, Rodger Roeser" ... that he is "owner and president of the largest PR/marketing firm in Cincinnati" ... that he "has a background in journalism, radio and marketing and would be the perfect person for the job" ... well, we bit! So here's our interview ...  Have you seen any impact from social media such as Facebook, Twitter, texting, etc. in your own public relations agency in how your staffers work or how the public relates to you?RR: In terms of business, I haven’t specifically seen necessary new business that I can attribute directly to social media in a vacuum, but rather having a good social media presence augments existing and ongoing outreach efforts for a business. These allow me an ability to have a soft touch point, and also control the content of our messaging, but social media are just one more touch point opportunity with a given consumer or client. Nothing can replace a face-to-face meeting or a phone call, or, more importantly in my opinion, a handwritten note. Our blogging has given us tremendous opportunities to share concepts and thoughts and further express our individuality within the context of the business, so it gives more personality to a business, which in professional services, I believe is critical. By extension, do you foresee much impact from social media in major news operations such as newspapers and TV news, or in the future of journalism generally? RR: No, I think this is no different than a press release, op-ed, fax or bylined article. It’s just another way to reach out to news outlets in a format that they may prefer. Twitter and Facebook are just as cluttered as the fax machine and the inbox, now. It’s still a matter of weeding through information ... and if anything, it’s yet another item the news operations have to weed through. While it’s important to utilize these and the proper touchpoint for a given journalist or news outlets, a bad pitch and a bad story are still lousy regardless of the mechanism of delivery. Where I feel it’s made the largest impact is the ability for a business to control the message and be more open and transparent with the content provided to a given journalist. Surely, it will “change” things, but no more than a fax did in its day, an e-mail did in its, or in this case, social media. Businesses and communicators absolutely must not look at social media as “the magic bullet.” It is part of a good, integrated public relations program and gives a number of additional ways to communicate with target publics. It can augment a good plan but certainly is part of public relations, not a replacement to (which would be like saying press releases will replace public relations). A tactic should never be confused with a communications philosophy. There seems to be a quick turnover/burnout rate in Twitter and devices such as Facebook and YouTube seem used mainly by the young. Whether these devices can become or remain profitable is in doubt. Do you see these as permanent limitations on the scope of social media? RR: I think these are only the beginning and there are many, many more. It is really just a matter of understanding how to use these within the overall context of a communications program and a sales/marketing reach out and connection campaign. While it may be true that these apps are used by a younger demo, good public relations agencies are quick to become expert in new forms of communications and adapt. We’ve been doing that since the days of the Pony Express. Of the various social media, do you see any one in particular as having the greatest potential on the media or generally in society? Any that will fade? RR: I think they will all fade eventually as they are replaced by ever evolving and newer forms of communication. Social media in 2009 are identical to Morse Code when it was created. There will be several that will come and go, but social media will of course exist in some way or another as folks share their experiences and information. It will surely be a cottage industry in and of itself in another few years. MySpace will be first to go. Which would mean more to you, a Twitter message from someone or an old-fashioned handwritten note from that same person? Do social media represent a dumbing down of America, a liberation of new possibilities, or both, or neither? RR: No question, a handwritten note. It is by far the easiest way to stand out from the clutter and differentiate yourself. I don’t feel it represents a dumbing down in any way, it’s simply another form of communication. I mean, we used to talk in dots and dashes, so it’s no different than OMG or l8r or anything in my opinion. Communication will always evolve and move forward, and if it brings people together and gives them an opportunity to express themselves, that’s a good thing no matter the medium. Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summit complained that players on the team bus were texting each other rather than speaking face to face. Your reaction? RR: Yes, that is definitely a problem. Texting, e-mail and social media are another barrier to having a simple conversation, the art of which is much lost. My fear is that many college graduates will do rather poorly in PR situations where they are pitching face to face, new meetings and in organized one-on-one activities. Social media cannot be a replacement for social skills. The Obama campaign used social media for organizing and a means of getting out the message. Can you see an expansion of uses of social media, perhaps taking a serious turn with politicians and public officials using them to create better policies? RR: Politicians will lie and obfuscate on Twitter the same as they lie and obfuscate about everything else. Just another touchpoint to lie to the American people. There have been abuses in the social media such as parody sites allowed on Twitter that pretend to be a celebrity's thoughts but really aren't. Is there much abuse in your opinion and if so, how can it be prevented? RR: Not that much, and no, not really. There will be regulations soon, but little that can be done. Remember the early days of URL buys … random people purchased mcdonalds.com, ibm.com and a host of others. Someone became a millionaire because they purchased www.YellowPages.com. Do you have any other thoughts on social media you wish to share? RR: I look forward to the next incarnation, and I wish Facebook would quit screwing around with itself.
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