THE PAST, PRESENT, & FUTURE OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS:Best practices and implications

Karen Freberg, Ph.D.

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Agenda for Presentation

• The field of strategic communications continues to play an essential and changing role in society, requiring the regular reassessment of the education of future practitioners.

• The demands of the current economy and the ever-changing digital environment are challenging practitioners and scholars to constantly evolve their research and practices in the discipline to meet the expectations of their stakeholders.

• This presentation will discuss the past, present, and future practices involving social media and emerging technologies for strategic communicators.

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Status of Strategic Communication

• Real-time communication and interaction• Mobile poly social realities across multiple

platforms• Age cohort differences among channels• Brand & individual storytelling• 24/7 connected and digital global society• More memes & trends emerge every day on

social media• Brands jump on board with these trends to

be competitive• Harder to engage audiences, capture

attention, and create memorable content in real-time.

http://www.theconversationprism.com/media/images/size1920.jpg

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reporters technology

1750s

1920s

1960s

public

advertising

word of mouth

pr

“Old” Strategic Comm practices

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“New” StratComm practices

reporters pr, advertising, social insiders social public

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Where we are now in 2013

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From Edelman Digital

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What continues to be the same• Objectives• Environmental Scanning• Audiences• Influence and Persuasive Messages• Integrated and Interactive Conversations• Multiplatform and multimedia • Measurement and evaluation

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Moving forward• The fundamental challenge for most organizations is that

social media is one environment where – messages work on a one-to-many, one-to-some, and one-

to-one scale across multiple technologies at the same time in real time,

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• Emergence of social engagement– Continuous set of exchanges where each party is the

participant in the conversation and relationship.– Helps build trust, credibility, and establishes a positive

reputation on the behalf of the brand or organization in question.

– Engagements have to be relevant, timely, and be personable for audience & community

Attention [short-term] + Sustainable storytelling practices [long-term] =SUCCESS

BRAND REPUTATION

LOYALTY

ENGAGEMENT

STORY

INNOVATION

RELATIONSHIPCOMMUNITY:

AMBASSADORS & EMBASSIES

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Key opportunity

STRATEGIC STORYTELLING IS AN ART & A SCIENCE

Digital stories are shaping audience behavior

Audience behavior is creatingDigital stories

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Points to consider

• Real time strategic communications focuses on – Speed & Agility– Compressing time to tie in brand with

news (newsjacking)– Growing need to understand power of

real-time information (ex. monitoring trends, issues, conversations, mentions, etc)

– Engaging participation from spectators & translate them into supporters.

Real time marketing

Engagement

Customer Service

Storytelling

Product Development

Social Media Platform

Reputation

Training

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Real-time marketing

• Real-time marketing means reacting in real, or near-real time.

• It’s about relevant messaging in the right platform at the right time.– This can be achieved in

social media by listening and anticipating customer needs.

VISUAL+

REAL-TIME+

MEMORABLE+

COMMUNITY+

STORY

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Best practices• Determine if audiences want

information in visual and multimedia formats.

• Engage with community and share options through other social media platforms and communities

• Be consistent and timely with updates in multimedia – as well as measurement.

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• Consider building and managing communities in real time, focus on analytics, and create/curate creative content that’s relevant and relatable to audiences.

• Consider multimedia outlets an extension to online reputation for brand or individual

• Keep future trends in mind and determine what is the next step for social media.

• Engage, Inform, Inspire, and be relevant.

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

Email: karen.freberg@louisville.edu