Recently, I had an opportunity to re-connect with Hanson Hosein, director of the Master of Communication in Digital Media at the University of Washington. Hanson, a former NBC News war correspondent and investigative producer, is passionate about storytelling, new models of communication and social media. I enjoyed chatting with Hanson about the impact of social media on communication. He shared his perspective on how digital media is awakening citizens and changing the world.
The intersection of storytelling and social media is fascinating for professional communicators, because as Hanson and others have articulated, social media enables anyone and everyone to be a broadcaster.
As consumers become broadcasters, they have a heightened ability to broadly influence others, and essentially everyone becomes an advertiser. In addition, more and more consumers are leveraging their social networks for buying decisions. I know this is true for me. When I upgraded my mobile phone, I solicited input from my network on Twitter and Facebook to determine whether I should purchase an iPhone or Android. (The iPhone won out.)
I am not the only one turning to my social network, consider the recent survey results from the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association illustrating that 93.6 percent of mothers with kids at home seek the advice of others before buying a service or product.
Clearly, with more people sharing information there is an increasing issue of trust. How do you know the information shared is accurate, valid, and authentic? False user reviews, erroneous tweets, and paid blog posts should make readers take pause. I believe we still rely on trusted journalists and credible news outlets to validate the points of view of our friends, which means its still important for companies to implement strategic public relations campaigns.
As we outline in our book, this changing landscape has swelled media fragmentation, led to a saturation of information and increased susceptibility of a brand’s reputation to scrutiny. These trends are driving business communicators away from traditional advertising to public relations.
Communication professionals need to evaluate and incorporate these trends and social mediums into their strategies in order to be successful. A critical component to successful public relations is the ability to craft a compelling story. Effective storytelling can engage, build trust and influence perceptions.
Given this, I was excited to learn that Hanson is writing a book about storytelling in this new landscape. The working title, “The Storytelling Uprising: How to Connect in the Disruption of the Digital Age” is tentatively scheduled to be published later this year.
It is an exciting time for public relations. As the industry continues to experience significant change, it is wonderful to connect with thought leaders such as Hanson. If you’re interested in hearing more about his perspective on digital media you can hear Hanson speak at Tedx Seattle, April 16, 2010.