Optimizing PR with Social Media

I recently stumbled upon a document that I think sums up the uses of social media for public relations really well. Called Optimizing Your Public Relations with Social Media, the six page document highlights the important things we've been covering this semester including:

• The beginnings and evolution of social media
• Traits of social media (i.e. user-driven, community-oriented, etc.)
• Tools of social media (i.e. blogs, podcasts, etc.)
  
• Discusses the advantages to using social media
• And most importantly, how to use social media in public relations practices

I think the document is a great place to start for someone just getting out and exploring the social media field. The document is provided by Vocus -- a "web-based software suite that helps organizations in an Internet-enabled world to fundamentally change the way they communicate with both the media and the public, optimizing their public relations and increasing their ability to measure its impact."

Other helpful documents provided by Vocus include rules for working with bloggers and the new role of the PR professional. You can request free copies of these documents here.