If learning via a press release that the organization behind the GIS software you use at work or school is now on Facebook, it might just encourage you to check out Facebook. While press releases may seem "old fashioned" to some, that area of our website continues to be one of the most read parts of Directions Magazine in 2010.
As it turns out, Glenn Letham (coincidentally, also involved in the GIS community) recently stated the exact opposite view:
Recently I’ve received “news releases” from companies because they have started on Twitter and on facebook… I’m sorry, but come on! The fact that your company is using a social tool like facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or ??? is NOT news. The best way to promote the fact that you’re trying to go social is to actually use social outlets to share this information. Penning a proper press release to announce yet another social bookmark is only adding to the noise and in my mind could back-fire.
So is a traditional press release to announce a social media service news, or is it noise? Let's take a look at the first press release that Schutzberg cited in her post:
ASPRS Is Now on Twitter
February 24, 2010
Company: American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing
Industry: Non-profit Organizations
Location: Bethesda, MD, United States of America
ASPRS is now on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ASPRSorg. Members and those interested in the activities of the Society are invited to follow the account to access the latest information with regard to Society news, conferences, publications and much more. Tweets will include reminders of conference deadlines, notices of upcoming ASPRS webinars and new book releases, and headlines of Society press releases.
ASPRS will use #ASPRS10 as the official hashtag for tweets about the ASPRS Annual Meeting in San Diego in late April, and invites everyone to use it as they tweet about their plans.
“Our use of social media is a natural part of our effort to be more connected with our members and others who follow the geospatial information sciences and technologies,” said ASPRS Executive Director James Plasker.
“Our use of social media is a natural part of our effort to be more connected with our members and others who follow the geospatial information sciences and technologies,” said ASPRS Executive Director James Plasker.
For more information on Twitter, visit http://twitter.com/.
Now in my view, this particular press release is solely of interest to the ASPRS membership. I highly doubt that even the members of the competing NAARSP (North American Association for Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry) would be interested in this. This could have been handled via electronic mail directly to the membership, rather than creating a press release. (By the way, don't look for NAARSP; I just made it up; in reality, the acronym belongs to the National Association of Amusement Ride Safety Officials.)
But if the information had been emailed to the members, it certainly provided beneficial information to them - or at least to the Twitter-using segment of the membership.
But what about the Twitter account itself (@asprsorg), and the advertised hashtag (#ASPRS10)? The Twitter account seems to pump out information a few times a month, but it's interesting to note that @ASPRSorg doesn't follow anybody. Among some Twitter users, a failure to follow anyone is seen as a cardinal sin, indicating that you do not wish to communicate with anyone on Twitter, but just to push information out. Now to be fair, ASPRS never promised that they'd interact with anyone, so I can't really fault them for not doing so.
As for the #ASPRS10 hashtag, I did find one tweet (from @ASPRSorg itself) that used the hashtag. However, the conference won't take place for a while, so presumably use of the hashtag will pick up over the next few weeks.
OK, let's look at the second press release that Schutzberg cited:
Clark Labs Joins Facebook
March 04, 2010
Company: Clark Labs
Location: Worcester, MA, United States of America
Clark Labs is pleased to announce that their official Fan Page is now available on Facebook, the popular social networking site. Facebook helps you stay in touch with friends/colleagues, make new contacts and explore/join communities of shared interests.
The Clark Labs’ page will act as a platform for communication with its fans and provide an online community for networking and discussion. The Facebook page will host news updates, project stories, links to articles, pictures and exclusive content. Fans are encouraged to post comments, upload photos, contribute to discussions, and invite others to join.
The Clark Labs’ Facebook page is accessible for viewing to anyone, but if you wish to receive updates, post or interact with other users, you must have a Facebook account. Facebook is free to join. The Clark Labs’ Facebook page address is: www.facebook.com/pages/Clark-Labs/464095610192.
Recent Facebook content includes discussion boards for REDD (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) and Earth Trends Modeler, conference activities and information on current research.
Clark Labs is based within the world-renowned Graduate School of Geography at Clark University and is the developer of the IDRISI Taiga GIS and Image Processing software and the Land Change Modeler software extension to ArcGIS.
Laurie Canavan (lcanavan@clarku.edu)
Phone: 508-793-7526
Now in this particular case, the people who would be interested in thie particular fan page may NOT be reachable via a known email account. Almost by definition, you don't necessarily know who your fans are. So it's essential that you have an avenue to reach your potential fans so that they know of the service you are providing.
Think about it. Somewhere in Gresham, Oregon, there's a couple of dudes who are sitting around saying, "Man, Clark Labs is kewl! How can we communicate with them?"
Now if these dudes happen to subscribe to Directions Magazine or visit the magazine's online site, they will see the press release cited above. This press release is also accessible to the readers of V1 Magazine (see here) and GeoConnexion (see here).
Now I'll admit that I don't know the geo world all that well, but it appears that the press release got to the right people who could take advantage of it. But there's another question - take advantage of what? Can the material in the press release be of benefit to the readers?
If you're a fan of Clark Labs, yes it can. Let's re-examine the second paragraph of the press release:
The Clark Labs’ page will act as a platform for communication with its fans and provide an online community for networking and discussion. The Facebook page will host news updates, project stories, links to articles, pictures and exclusive content. Fans are encouraged to post comments, upload photos, contribute to discussions, and invite others to join.
Hey, that sounds good. Not only can you read information, but you can also discuss the information that's available (via Facebook features such as comments and likes; sound familiar?).
But there's one more test that we need to apply to the press release. Does the social media presence live up to the hype in the press release? The only way to tell is to visit the Facebook page itself. So I went to www.facebook.com/pages/Clark-Labs/464095610192. At the time of my visit, there were 327 fans of the page - and yes, there was interaction:
So let's review the two press releases. The first one (about the ASPRS Twitter account and a conference hashtag) was NOT the best way to reach interested people (an email to the membership would have been better). For those members, however, it did provide beneficial information. While I personally question whether the social media outlet is being used effectively (e.g., @ASPRSorg isn't following anyone), at least the account is pumping out the information that they said they would pump out.
However, the second press release (about the Clark Labs fan page on Facebook) was (in my view) the best way to reach interested people. The press release itself did provide beneficial information. And once you got to the Facebook page, it delivered what it promised, including the ability to interact with all those really cool dudes and dudettes at Clark Labs. Perhaps if I were more involved in geo stuff, I'd be a fan of Clark Labs also - put pictures of the Labs up on my bedroom wall, wait in the rain for hours and hours just to catch a brief glimpse of a Clark Labber - you know, the usual stuff that fans do.
Yes, this post conveniently agrees (and disagrees) with both Adena Schutzberg and Glenn Letham. Sometimes a press release about your social media presence is beneficial, and sometimes it's non-beneficial noise. This just goes to show that there are no hard and fast rules.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to write the press release for the Empoprise-BI Facebook fan page. Maybe the New York Times will carry it.
