Being able to collaborate social media and traditional public relation skills is one task that public relations students need to carry out and bring to the table since that is what public relation agencies, companies, and organizations are looking for today, according to Co-Founder and President of Palette Public Relations Inc., Martin Waxman. Throughout the interview ( an-interview-with-martin-waxman), Waxman discusses the importance of traditional PR, life in the PR agency, and the digital footprints that are taking place.
Integrating social media strategies is the biggest challenge Waxman faces with his clients because clients have to know their target audience ( who they want to reach) and what type of community are they part of, which are all traditional public relation strategies. Understanding how to use social media tools is just as important as the company has to understand their target audience. For example, just because your target audience is using Twitter, doesn’t mean the company has a deep understanding of their target audience and are able to use Twitter in one day effectively to reach their target audience. With various social media tools that are available, you (the client/company) have to understand what social media sites stand for, the purpose of the site, and most importantly, how people are utilizing the social media tools and are communicating to each other.
Not only do you have to knowledgeable of how to use various social media tools, but students and future public relation practitioners must have a general understanding of the major communication bloggers, who the top communication people are, and stay current in what’s happening within the social media world. For example, even though I follow @paullyoung, @Peter Shankman, @chrisbrogan (just to name a few), I must know what they are discussing, how they communicate/”tweet”, and what type of professional work they do or have accomplished and not having them just as followers. Also, after completing a social media monitoring report, I am now aware of what types of social monitoring sites are available. However, just knowing and having a general knowledge of those sites won’t effectively help me know how to use the sites. I have to explain which site to use and why, which has been an interview question.
Three vital characteristics that his company were founded upon are simplicity, energy, and integrity. In other words, simplicity meaning to make it easier for both his clients and for his agency. He won’t give up on his clients until he or his clients get results, which defines energy. Out of all these qualities that Waxman founded his agency upon, I believe that the last one “integrity’ is the most important quality, especially today. According to Waxman, “integrity” is being up front and honest with your clients. Having integrity is essential in becoming more transparent in social media. ” When we started agency, media relations at our core” said Waxman.
Living & Breathing PR 