We here at Social Studies may be leading you astray. Our very name could be construed as misleading: Social Studies Blog. Weber Shandwick, our home sweet home, is a PR agency. As such, we do, um, public relations. Publishing a discrete social media blog may imply that social media is a distinct form of marketing as opposed to being just another channel or tactic to communicate messages.
Yes, social media allows companies to “listen” unlike the traditional channels, but that listening refines what a company says back, yes? It’s still public relations because it’s a company relating to the public.
So, until the day when “social media strategists” become as silly a PR position as “news release artist: verb division” we need to push on in this fashion.
Traditional and social media go together like steak and red wine: one lays the foundation, and the other facilitates the conversation. Go forth and dine.