How fashion is using social media-Does it spell the end of traditional PR?

There is a good piece by Rob Brown on Pr Blog which looks at the way the fashion world is using social media tools.

He writes that

With the impact of the social web, consumer to consumer communications are edging out some of the traditional brand PR messaging. Consumer opinions are more important than ever in influencing the dreams and desires of the consumer.

For the world of fashion this

provides consumers with front row access to all of the international shows and this enables them to see trends without the intervention of the mainstream fashion media.

thus broadening the range of potential customer in a way that the old media routes couldn't.

So is this the end of traditional PR? Probably not in the same way that social media will never substitute for creative content.But it will form part of a very important feedback loop for all products and services.

How social media may benefit from the recession

An interesting bit of research on social media marketing from Jeremiah Owyang,who reports that

53% of marketers are determined to increase their social media budget during a recession, and 42% will keep it the same, a total of 95% of marketers bullish on social media marketing. Why? The reasons are obvious to some, it’s inexpensive and the opportunity to benefit from cost-effective word-of-mouth, are promising.

and some key facts

Social media budgets are small, but are growing during a recession, yet brands shouldn’t approach this as an experiment, and should have a proper strategy complete with objectives, roles, processes, and measurement.

Ht-Paul Bradshaw

Leave our twitter alone

One of the problems of journalism and social media is that others are taking over the platform.

Amongst the worst culprits are the dreaded publicity machine.One B2B editor said last week that he would not go onto twitter because he would get inundated with PR tweets.

Over at Wordymouth.com the problem is explored further

Publicity and hype are ruining social media

and are using the wrong platform to market

Public relations is about strategy, assessment of trends, and developing tactics that result in motivating and influencing publics. Communication, social media included, is about listening and then engagement.

Another segment of society is also taking over the medium.When I first signed on to twitter,I started to follow Stephen Fry in the misconception that I might have a one to one conversation with him.

However celebs like the PR industry are simply using the medium as a self promotion tool and ignoring its main selling point as an information exchange

I would caution against embracing the notion that celebrities on Twitter are just like us. Fans who think they are getting closer to their star crushes by befriending them on Twitter likely are headed for disappointment.writes Wailin Wong

So let's not spoil this wonderful medium

The journalism brain drain to local councils

The continued cutbacks in local and regional titles and its implications for the reporting of local government is examined by John Slattery in an article in the journalist

It is according to John accelerating the ongoing trend of journalists moving to the relative safety of working in PR in the public sector

There is a danger he says

this editorial brain drain to the public sector will tip the balance, with professional publicly financed PR material filling the vacuum left by under-staffed and poorly paid journalists.

Of course if journalists are writing the stuff then there is much evidence that it is going in to the local press unedited.

But also with all this professional expertise

Councils are not just sending out press releases; they are producing their own papers, which newspaper companies regard as unfair competition and journalists fear will further drive down the standard of reporting.