Diversity in Social Media Advertising and PR

Social media presence is a must if a company or government entity wants to be relevant—that is just a fact of the modern world.  More people own a cell phone than a toothbrush in the world, so tapping into that market as an advertiser or public relations professional is a no-brainer.  The amount of people that can be reached via social media is huge.  

Projection Growth for Social Media from data journalist, Dyfed Losche

The world is changing quickly, and social media helps move it right along.  Connections that can be made around the world have done much for it.  It brings people together, it tears people apart, and it creates social movements like we’re seeing today.  Between all the banter are news and ads.  As a company on social media, engaging with consumers, and creating a friendly persona can be a fantastic tool for building a brand.  It can also be dangerous if used poorly. 

If a person is involved in advertising or public relations, it is so important to remain professional and considerate of the diverse audience they serve.  In looking at the Strategic Communication ethics codes, diversity is one of the most important codes of which advertisers/PR professionals should be most aware and conscious.

Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) upholds advocacy, honesty, expertise, independence, loyalty, fairness, code of conduct.  They spell out exactly what they stand for.  The American Advertising Federation (AFF) discusses much transparency and how it builds trust among the people.  I believe they really do try to uphold these codes, however, we are all human.  We sometimes can’t see that what we say or do is offensive to someone that may have a different experience or perspective. 

In an article written by Rebecca Borison, she examines the top 10 social media “fails” of 2014.  In reading some of them, it is pretty unbelievable that a PR professional or advertiser would have approved some of them.  One of the examples discussed is when American Apparel posted a picture of the Challenger space shuttle exploding to celebrate July 4.  The company apologized, saying that the person who posted the image was born before the Challenger and didn’t realize what the picture was.

See more here: inc.com/Rebecca-borison/top-10-social-media-fails-2014.html

Since these social media fails have occurred, most companies and government entities have adopted new rules and regulations regarding social media.  This includes professional accounts and private accounts.  These are taken very seriously, and many have lost their jobs because of not following these boundaries.

Posting the wrong thing can be detrimental to a business, at least it could hurt it for a long time.  One thing that many companies and entities have begun to do now is work in a team, or have posts approved before submission.  Having a collective of different perspectives, again, is so important! 

 There are many elements to the ethical codes, and this 6-hour course lays out a lot of good information.