Today in my Social Media Communications class we had a guest speaker come in. Robert Young is the Vice President of Public Relations for the Kentucky Derby Festival. The Kentucky Derby Festival is a spring time festival in Louisville that ultimately culminates in one of the largest fireworks shows in the United States. Needless to say Mr. Young is in charge of publicizing a very large event.
Having Mr. Young come in and talk about his job was a very valuable experience. He was able to give first hand accounts of how social media is used as well as tell us about some of the challenges that social media has with the public.
One of the biggest points that he had to make was that through social media everyone influences others. While the public relations department may make a post on Facebook to only say 10,000 followers, those followers can then “share” that post to their friends therefore potentially getting tens of thousands of more views than they would normally have. This potential of low-cost/high reach advertising is very appealing to companies and organizations around the world.
Social Media is also the new and popular way for adults to communicate. According to Mr. Young nearly 70% of adults are more likely to comment via social media than email or phone calls. So getting feedback for your company or organization about products and events is much easier and likely to get a response if you use social media rather than more traditional means of communication.
The potential audience is also growing. In 2010 about 47% of Americans were using social media. By 2012 that number has grown to become 56%. More than 20% were using that social media every day. By organizations using social media as their thoroughfare to the consumer or client, they can be more effective in their message.
Having Mr. Young come in to talk to us about his job was certainly an invaluable experience. His expertise and first hand experience really allowed myself to come to a better understanding of how a public relations person operates.
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