The prompt response to contemporary trends in the online environment by individuals, organisations, brands and others are increasing daily. It’s definitely because of the several advantages it offers. Brands like Skittles has taken that bold step and the distressed brand Woolworths with its recent re-launch online. The opportunities in the online environment are unending; there is always something new that is beneficial to web users.

Looking at the opportunities it offers organisations, the online world is a lucrative platform for any organisation to promote, advertise and market their products and services using various new media technologies. It enables individual organisations create awareness of their products and services using unique advertising and marketing strategies which ultimately wins the hearts of customers and attracts them to their brands. Also, organisations are able to interact and engage with customers directly through social networks like twitter, facebook and blogs. This enables them meet customers’ needs better through feedback and creates an atmosphere for building a lasting relationship with them. Customers are truly satisfied when given the opportunity to have personal interaction with brands they like; you only get this sort of connection online.

Customers in search of products and services first go online to get information before acting, as we all know shopping online saves money, time and energy. Why would you want to stress yourself when you can be in the comfort of your home and purchase several products from any location in the world? Another advantage is that your purchases are delivered right at your doorstep with a handful of them free.

The online environment creates opportunities for individuals to express, promote and communicate their creativities, ideas and talents all over the world. Recently Lauren Luke got her fame for giving celebrity makeup tips through YouTube; this has landed her a contract with an American makeup company set to start her own makeup line. Not to forget, love seekers now indulge in online dating, it’s cool but be careful. Really, I think the opportunities the online environment creates are awesome.

What would it be like to have an MA in Social Media? That will soon become a reality, come September 2009 the Birmingham City University will open its doors to pioneer postgraduate students in Social Media.

Most social networks are strictly for entertainment purposes, but having a degree using them is really amazing. A question crossed my mind, why should a university offer an MA in Social Media? My guess is that the role social media has to play in the future is vital. Already, PR practitioners, Marketers, Advertisers and other fields of profession are making use of various social networks to reach their target audience. This alone shows the indispensable nature of social media.  

Some schools of thought have criticised the course thinking it’s a waste of university resources and a waste of time when it can be self taught. Another school of thought like PR professional Neville Hobson is in support of the degree. The interesting thing is that students are enthusiastic about the experience, according to the course convenor Jon Hickman there has been good response from potential students. Here is a blog and tweets about the course.

In general, I believe that equipping PR, Journalism and Marketing students with the necessary knowledge and skills in social media will be beneficial to them in the long run. For instance, Leeds Metropolitan University offers an optional course module on PR and New Media which was introduced last year to its Marketing and Public Relations students. Here, students are to set up and maintain a blog which reflects personal interests, social media, online PR and Marketing. I happen to be part of this success story, so far I am certain that my course mates and I are experiencing a great time with various social media tools and their application.

This shows a few universities are waking up to the call of social media and its impact to the society, I couldn’t agree more. Good luck Birmingham City University!!

Most organisations now make use of social networks  as avenues to reach and connect with their various publics in the online environment. The consumer market is highly competitive in nature and to stay ahead of competition it is necessary for organisations to maintain and sustain good reputation online.  

Why does online reputation matter? It boosts confidence among customers who enjoy associating with organisations that have untainted image and reputation. It increases sales of products and services offered by an organisation resulting from patronage of loyal customers. The profits of an organisation rises when sales increases, this in turn makes the organisation stand out among competitors. One good thing about online reputation is that it effect changes on products and services through customer feedbacks channels employed by an organisation.

Organisations manage their online reputation to know what is being said about their products, services, performance, achievements and shortcomings using monitoring tools such as:

·          Trackur

·          Technorati which is a search engine site to know what is being said on the blogosphere about your organisation.

·          Digg to know who has dugg up submitted stories that match your organisation’s name.

·         Google blog search to know who is blogging about your organisation.

·         Google analytics

·         Del.icio.us

·         Google video which has switched to index videos from online hosting sites such as YouTube and Metacafe. It helps to keep track of negative videos that include your organisation’s name and products.

 According to Dale Neef in his book Managing Corporate Reputation And Risks (2003, p.25), “From the Brazilian rain forests to Nigeria, and from the diamond mines of South Africa to the oil fields in Alaska, company activities are mercilessly monitored by an increasingly powerful and effective cadre of activities who quickly relay information worldwide, into collaborative activist networks, to lobbyists, to government agencies, and the press.” This means that it is imperative for organisations to monitor their online environment closely, they should be credible and ethical in their operations, watch out for pranksters that start and spread negative rumours because the slightest mistake on the web can escalate and destroy and organisation’s reputation built over the years.

 Good online reputation guarantees long term sustainability for the organisation while on the other hand, reputation can be destroyed when negative stories arise. Here are Andy Beal’s ten tactics for saving online reputation. 

In recent years, the practice of corporate social responsibility by organisations has been a controversial topic for debate. In the past two weeks, I had lectures on this topic delivered by Prof Ralph Tench a principal lecturer of public relations at Leeds Metropolitan University, UK.

Organisations engage in CSR to impact on the society in which they operate. Looking at the UN Global Compact’s ten principles , organisations have to put into considerations certain principles in their operations. Company behaviour is said to be responsible when organisations are ethical in their operations, value and respect their employees and stakeholders, obey the laws of the society in which they operate, and being profitable not at any cost.

Company behaviour is irresponsible when employees are exploited; making profits by all means at the expense of environmental degradation, harm and loss of life, sometimes these acts can be intentional or unintentional. Speaking of Nigeria, there has been the case of the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and the Nigerian government. Pfizer according to reports, tested the experimental antibiotic Trovafloxacin in Kano state during an outbreak of meningitis which affected thousands in 1996, without the approval of the Nigerian regulatory agencies and proper verbal consent from parents, this led to deformities and death in young Nigerian children.

My question is did Pfizer act responsible or irresponsible? This is because Pfizer claimed to have been on a humanitarian mission to Kano state and had the approval of the federal government which the latter denied vehemently. Where they being ethical in their operations? Did they forget that they were dealing with human beings and not animals? Reports also say that the use of Trovan was approved by adults in the United States but not for children. Why was it then tested on vulnerable Nigerian children? Like Akin Akintayo  said, Pfizer, we are not lab rats.

In my opinion, Pfizer’s behaviour was irresponsible though it seemed their actions were unintentional, they erred in their moral, ethical and social responsibility. However, It is good when organisations engage in CSR, they should not use it as an avenue to cover their irresponsibilities.  

Customer relations is considered an indispensable area of public relations. The goal of every business is to prosper whether it manufactures, sell products or provides services. This prosperity is hinged on patronage, as we all know the most important publics of any business organisation and whom it must maintain rapport with are its customers.

Business prosperity and profit making are the driving force of any business organisation. In order to achieve these, organisations have to be customer centred. The market place is highly competitive in nature where customers can choose from variety of products and services. In order to attract patronage, organisations have to offer products and services that match and support customer needs. Apart from the provision of quality products and services, the interaction and the way customers are treated matters. Everyone including myself looks forward to be treated nicely once we walk through the door of an organisation, if I get a good reception i’m definitely going to come back, if otherwise you know the answer.

Why do people feel comfortable with specific organisations and ignore some others? The answer is good customer services employed by these organisations. These services go a long way, it satisfies customers, triggers their patronage for an organisation’s products and services which automatically boosts the prosperity and profits of the organisation. Moreover, poor service delivery has its consequences, its creates a bad image for an organisation, low patronage and in some cases threatens its existence. According to the Research Institute of America ” the average person who has a bad service experience tells at least nine others about it and 13% of complaints relate their experience to more than 20 other people. In comparison, people who receive an excellent service only tell three or four other about it”.

PR practitioners have almost an unending list of customer relations tools and strategies to use in their bid to sustain customers and create long-term relationships. My following points would add to their success story, clean business environment, a business premises designed aesthetically, a friendly atmosphere with personnel that possess charm and warmth and a smiling welcoming face which is far better than a frowning one. No wonder some organisations have greeters with pleasant faces who open doors and welcome customers. I tell you, customer relations is a strategic tool of a successful 21^st century business.

Creating and maintaining a blog forms part of my assessment on the course module Public Relations and New Media. Honestly, I have never heard about blogs till the tutor mentioned it in class. I was sceptical about the whole idea at first because I did not know how to go about it. After subsequent lectures on the course, I began to see the necessity of blogging. As a PR practitioner in the making, having the opportunity as a student to learn about the nitty-gritty of blogging will be an added advantage when I enter the PR industry.

What are blogs anyway? The internet has introduced a good deal of online social networks in recent years, a blog is a product of the internet. Originally, blogs were used by individuals as avenues to express and share their opinions and ideas on topics of interest across the world. Blogging as I came to understand has the power to connect with target audience because information on the web travels fast in a twinkling of an eye. This advantage gave way to the proliferation and popularity of blogs, and has attracted organisations and other fields of profession. In the PR industry today, blogging has become an additional strategic tool in the interaction and management of relationships with both the internal and external publics of an organisation.

There has been emphasis on the necessity of blogging by PR practitioners. Practitioners have observed that their existing relationships with stakeholders can be highly effected by postings on the blogosphere. Its ubiquitous peculiarity transports information, promotes products and services, enables marketing functions and above all allows practitioners the freedom to communicate with specific audience without media editing and filtering unlike the traditional media channels. It is crystal clear that blogging is a tactic in public relations and marketing efforts today.

Consequently, blogs do have positive and negative impacts on the image, identity and reputation of an organisation and if not carefully executed could alter the effectiveness of the desired outcome. This is because the internet audiences are questioning and inquisitive. In my opinion, the former outshines the latter on the basis that only the well-informed, well-disciplined and strategically capable communicator will make it meaningful in the application of such features. A friend of mine once said, the world is changing rapidly, the future is the internet. I strongly agree with him and based on this premise, I’m certain that the blogging culture has come to stay.

Books consulted: Sandra C. Duhe, EDITOR (2007) New Media and Public Relations. Peter Lang. David Phillips (2001) Online Public Relations. Kogan Page