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No-Way Jose!


Thoughts on design, marketing, pr, and new media.

Filed under: Integrated Marketing Communications

Pinterest and Crisis Communications in PR

Pinterest is a rising star in social media thanks to its unique visual elements and social sharing dynamics. The network recognized a niche in the amount of photos that users share and made an awesome albeit unique platform directly for this purpose. People love visuals and Pinterest satisfies this desire by providing today's social centric audiences with a great tool to bring awareness or 'interest' to virtually any topic.

The most fascinating aspect of today's communication tools is the transition from pure text to interactive elements that take advantage of the power of visualization, imagery, storytelling, and creativity. Social media takes this arena a step further by integrating the conversational component. Pinterest is a tool that merits special attention through its ability to add a nice visual touch to any topic at hand making it important for marketers and PR practitioners to focus on intertwined social communication.

Picasso couldn't have imagined such a tool.

Crisis communicators are interested in channels of communication that allow for additional information, expertise, and answers in the wake of a crisis. Pinterest is one of these channels that makes it easy to tell the real story. A few possibilities come to mind that would demonstrate the power of Pinterest:

BP could use Pinterest to post pictures of its clean up efforts and safety measures.

Bp_oil

Coke could use Pinterest to offer visuals into the world of its WWF collaboration and the polar bears themselves and perhaps tackle its white can debacle. The NBA could offer backstage pics that invite fans to see the NBA like never before. Just a few pinteresting ideas.

A combination of creativity, visual aptitude, storytelling ability, and passion comprise just the right collection of skills that are sure to propel brands to trailblazer status when it comes to using Pinterest for crisis communications, public relations, social business, and beyond.

 

Skills for the Next Gen Marketer

In a recent AdvertisingAge article entitled, "What's Required of the Next Generation of Marketers," Maureen Morrison identifies several skills that can help aspiring brand technicians stand out from the rest of the pack.

"Tomorrow's marketers will have to be well-rounded multi-disciplinarians who understand not only creative, but also digital marketing, social media and new technologies -- and how those all complement one another -- as well as how to back up a plan with data and analytics."

Following, are what Maureen lists as the top skills required for Next Generation marketers:

Agility

Learners who have the ability to adapt quickly and handle the twists and turns which face marketers on a daily basis.

Digital Understanding

A fundamemtal awareness and keen understanding of what's happening in the digital arena including the always popular world of social media.

Integrated-Marketing Capabilities (My favorite for obvious reasons.)

Consumers are bombarded with information from various angles oftentimes left to deal with cluttered and competing messages. Integrated marketing communications bridge this gap by applying an important element of orchestration to the marketing mix.

Industry Specific Knowledge

Some industries involve a steep learning curve that can only be conquered through experience and first hand knowledge.

These are fantastic recommendations and very relevant skills needed for next generation marketing. However, I believe that we can also add the following:

Cultural Awareness

Audiences are more diverse than ever before. Growing populations such as the Latino market are comprised of cultural nuances that oftentimes determine the success or failure of a communications effort.

Investing in yourself should be an ongoing process.

 

Your thoughts and comments are welcome.