Scott Farrell, expert in crisis communications, gave a lecture on Generation S: Social Media and the Communication Revolution Wednesday at Vilas Hall.
Students and faculty gathered to listen to the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication alumnus speak about the increasing significance of social media.
Farrell, co-manager of the GolinHarris global office, provided insight on the public relations and social media world.
Farrell introduced the concept of Generation S, the generation that is currently in college and will soon head out into the work force. He said Generation S will soon play an important role in a time of incredible change driven by the emergence, the growing acceptance and, in many cases, the preference of this social media.""
According to Farrell, newspaper readership is on the decline and online participation is steadily increasing. He stressed the importance of the Internet market and social media to the marketing and public relations professionals in coming years.
""One in four Americans have a MySpace page,"" he said.
He indicated social media is a phenomenal market for public relations and marketing professions. ""Consumers have taken ownership of the brand,"" Farrell said.
He said more and more news is coming from non-traditional news sources like blogs and people are concerned about the validity of the sources.
""Eighteen of the top 20 stories came from bloggers or other aggregator sites,"" Farrell said.
He stressed authenticity in social media is a major platform of public relations professionals.
Companies can connect with the market through micromarketing and highly tailored messages, but it must be done in an authentic way.
""People can sense a phony, and they are brutal when they find you out,"" he said.
Farrell emphasized the future of advertising and public relations is really in the hands of the public, but it is the responsibility of the public relations professionals to harness the power of the public and turn it into profits for their employers.
