Whether you’re new to social media or a seasoned user, Sree Sreenivasan’s Social Media Weekend was meant to be a learning experience for everyone. The primary goal behind this event was to share best practices with journalists and media professionals when using social media, and stress the importance of connection. A common thread seen throughout the conference was personal branding. Some savvy social media minds shared their thoughts on social media and its impact on journalism and media; here are some of the key takeaways from that day:

Know who you are.

Never shy away from being you. Pick two to three subjects that define you and demonstrate your niche. Sree Sreenivasan said: “Think about the top 10-15 people following you whenever you tweet. Aim not to bore them.” Regularly update your social media profiles to include the most up-to-date information. It is important to constantly recreate your bio; it is the one place where you can brag about your accomplishments.

Think before you tweet.

Don’t bore or more importantly, misinform your followers. Consider what you’re tweeting to them. Sreenivasan added: “Everyone will miss almost everything you do on social media.” Keep it interesting, find new ways to engage with your community, but remember that your personal brand is an extension of your parent company. Steve Rubel shared a great example – Derek Jeter as an extension of the Yankees baseball brand. Through his own personal pages, Jeter gives the Yankees a humanistic quality and acts as the face behind the brand.

Timing is everything.

Unique content becomes spreadable content when the timing is perfect. We are living in a world of real-time news, where breaking stories are reported instantaneously. There are positives and negatives to this. Reporting breaking stories first can build trust within your community, but rushing and misreporting a story can result in major issues. The false report of Joe Paterno’s death was a great example mentioned during the Sports & Social Media Panel by Richard Deitsch: “As in Paterno’s death, one blogger source was used to break the story. Leading to one blogger embarrassing a major corporation.” Had this corporation verified its sources before releasing the story, this situation may have never happened. While it can be frustrating to wait, ESPN’s Joe Schad added: “I tweet what I know when I know it.”

Value. Today’s press and consumers are singularly focused on savings, deals and savvy shopping. Long gone are buzzwords like bling and indulge. So how can marketers guide their brands through this new media landscape, while remaining true to the brand identity? A recent Kaplow white paper analyzes the different ways the media are covering “value”, provides implications for coverage and maintaining brand equity, and includes specific analysis for luxury, beauty and retailers. Below are some highlights from the report.
For a full download of this whitepaper, please email Kaplow at email-liz@kaplowpr.com.

What Does Value Mean Today?

The media currently views value through the prism of immediate and significant savings. The goal is to help consumers get more bang for their buck. Great deals, coupons, low-cost alternatives and other money-saving tips lead coverage.

Additionally, the media is exploring the ramifications and shifts in consumer behavior as a result of the downturn. Coverage of people staying home, shopping less and budget hunting has led to tips for families planning “staycations” and stories of fashionistas turned “recessionistas.” Likewise, deal roundup stories and homemade gift ideas dominated holiday media.

The Implications for Coverage and Maintaining Brand Equity

1. The value story needs to be authentic.

Consumers are savvy, and more so now. Brands should only herald savings if they are real and significant. “Marketers strive for value” says a November 12 blog post on Fortune.com, calling the initiatives a “flurry of downscaling.”

There’s no need to beat around the bush when it comes to telling a value story. Americans and the media are quite aware that these are challenging times. Pitches and correspondence should reflect the realities of the situation.

2. Help for companies that don’t fall into the recession-proof category.

If your brand does not fall into the value category, look for ways to further build a connection with consumers, while staying true to the brand’s identity. Deepen the emotional connection by showcasing its uniqueness, or through loyalty programs like the new Starbucks Gold Card.

Also, use this as a moment to educate your consumers. Tiffany used this to great success in the recession of the early 1990s. The jeweler’s “How to Buy a Diamond” campaign helped them gain significant traction in flush times.

3. Take a scalpel to your brand’s story.

With the news cycle moving so fast, brands need to be flexible with their message. PR professionals have the benefit of working in real time, enabling us to carve out story elements that resonate.

Look for pre-existing facets to mine, and make “new.” Kmart put an emphasis on its layaway program with ads that position it as savvy and exciting. The payment plan has earned national press, including features in the Washington Post and a showcase in Rob Walker’s New York Times Magazine Consumed column.

4. Remember, life goes on.

People are still getting married and having babies. They are socializing with friends and family. Lockstep with the coverage of how the recession is impacting our lives, is a conversation about how to survive it in style.

• “Dream wedding needn’t cost a fortune,” writes the Tennessean.
• “Times are tough. Let’s have a party!” says the San Jose Mercury News.

For additional implications, and a full analysis of the way media are covering value, please email Kaplow at email-liz@kaplowpr.com. We’ll gladly send you the full report.

The power of our incoming talent pool.  They are plugged in, savvy and connected marketers. And they are often under 21.

On the hunt for PR innovators? At our agency, we’ve had great success finding a new crop of smart, creative marketers.

It may surprise you that these new stars are our recent band of interns.

When we first established our intern program, it was part recruiting tool, part admin support. Interns helped with mailings, stocking product closets and a host of other important, but not necessarily strategic, work. But in the past few years, our interns have become a great resource for our firm, and I suspect, other smartly run businesses.

These savvy college students offer a window into marketing 2.0, and great perspective on how to reach an astute and significant demographic—their own. Millennials are powerful consumers and brand builders, and they demand tailored outreach programs.

So two years ago, we tasked them with devising a college initiative for one of our technology clients and last summer, a back to school program for a retailer. This year, we asked for a snapshot of their fellow Millennials’ media and technology consumption. The four interns spent their first week drafting and executing an extensive survey that spanned from Facebook to texting to eBay.

Millennials have grown up sharing their impressions, persuasions and choices with one another online, and they have spent their pre-professional years building vast networks. Using only their personal contacts, our interns sent their survey to more than 2,000 people within less than an hour. That’s impressive and really, social networking at its best.

Students regularly call upon their personal networks for official use. Online friends help each other by completing surveys, generating attendance at events, donating to a charity or even answering a simple question, like “What did I miss in class today?”

The ease with which they merge their public and personal lives is often criticized, but it can also be a great boon to PR. In their final presentation to a room full of executives, the interns referenced their own blogs and experiences on social networking sites.

As experienced “editors” of their own content driven sites—whether it’s a blog or the newsfeed on Facebook—they’ll begin their PR careers with a better understanding of what is compelling to publish, and therefore pitch, to both media and consumers. After all, they’ve already spent years marketing what’s happening in their lives.

Constant use of instant messenger, texting, and BlackBerry messaging (my daughters got me started) may have left Millennials trading traditional writing skills for new communication tools like Twitter which allows for only 140 characters per message.  There you have it, short messages to their wide social network – a perfect PR storm.

We may not know precisely how, but clearly technology is going to keep changing the way we work.  As it does I’m sure we’ll be looking to Millennials for best practices. They should be poised to respond since they’ve grown up adapting the way they connect and communicate.