Social Media This Week [ROUND-UP]

Overview
Apologies, for the delay in putting together this round up…I was planning to type it up on the train journey to Leeds, but let I was let down by the on-board wireless. However, I’m now back online and I’ve pulled out a couple of posts, which in my mind really make the business case for social media. The first looks at how social media is redefining the way we share ideas, build trust and make our purchasing decisions. The second follows the same theme, although it offers more detailed and practical advice for dealing with complaints on Twitter. I would say this article is a must-read for any small business that is looking to dip its toes into social media.I’ve also included an article in Mahsable which explains how freelancers may use social media in the future. I know from personal experience how valuable platforms like blogs, Twitter and Linked In can be for networking with industry colleagues and discovering new opportunities. Whilst, social media can transcend timezones, geography and other physical barriers, there is still no substitute for face-to-face communication. Stephen Waddington of Speed Comms revealed that the CIPR is going to crowdsource contributions to its social media guidelines. For me, this is a great step in the right direction and I look forward to seeing how the guidelines progress, as well as contributing.

I’ve also included an article, which although a couple of months old, only caught my attention this week. It looks at internships within the PR industry and my friend Mike White makes some great suggestions on how internships could be defined in the future. I’ll reiterate my position; I think it is unethical not pay expenses and that best practice should be the minimum wage – at least. The post has generated a fair amount of conversation, which is just what we need more of, if we are to find a more equitable solution.

Why Your Customers are Turning to Social Media
You may have noticed the way we communicate and engage with each other has changed. In no small part it is because of technology, though it’s less of a technology revolution and more of a communications evolution.

5 Tips for Dealing with Complaints on Twitter
Every business, blogger, and the rest of us on social media have experienced it: someone just called you out on Twitter or in a blog. It’s all too easy to get frustrated and respond with something that will just make the situation worse (“I’ll give you a refund right away… oh wait, you didn’t actually pay for this!”) or to take it personally and get upset.

How Freelancers Might Use Social Media in the Future
For freelancers, social media has been a real game changer, and brings networking to a whole new level. Depending on how you look at it, the competition either just got a lot tougher or the playing field burst wide open.

CIPR crowdsources comment and contributions to its social media guidelines
22-months is a long time in this industry. That’s how long it has been since the CIPR reviewed its social media guidelines. The CIPR’s Social Media panel is addressing the issues by inviting contributions to the guidelines from across the PR industry and other disciplines. You’re invited to make contributions direct on a wiki.

Fair Pay, Fair Play: Why interns must be paid more than expenses
Like journalism, PR agencies do take students and recent graduates for work experience placements. Most work placements in PR are unpaid. Keri Hudson, 20, from London has done work experience in PR before.