Backbone on DailyTech blog

Social media is still considered a fad by some bloggers and writing hacks, but the companies able to succeed in the changing tech landscape are seeing good results. Not surprisingly, tech companies and industry public relations were all over the Web 2.0 craze – but the trend has spread to other industries, activities, and markets.

Backbone Media, a PR firm that specializes in catering to companies that are for active people, has found a great benefit from adapting to social media. I’ve chatted with numerous tech companies about their use of social media, but it’s a bit more revealing to chat with PR firms that don’t directly deal with IT companies and tech customers.

“Social media is a part of the culture at Backbone – it’s how we communicate with each other, brands and editors,” Backbone Media recently said when asked about the Web 2.0 world. “Not only has social media simplified the ability to repurpose content across multiple channels, such as blog, social networks and a brand’s newsroom, but more importantly it has allowed for brands to engage consumers with their content.”

The PR firm has an official blog, Twitter account, and Facebook page – which give the company’s clients even more exposure. It offers readers and casual consumers to see products they may have otherwise missed outside of Twitter and Facebook.

Backbone specifically gave respect to Twitter, as it “thrives during events, gatherings and conferences due to its real-time accessibility to news and information, such as a simple #hashtag.”

“From an agency standpoint, we like Twitter’s ability to gather brand intelligence for the brands we work for.”

The rise of Web 2.0 practices has left some companies and PR firms out in the dark, while others have been able to capitalize and better work with clients and customers.

If you’re ever in doubt about shoddy service or product quality, especially from larger corporations, getting in touch with the company directly has never been easier. Just a few years ago, e-mails and phone calls were often ignored from individual consumers — but Twitter, Facebook, and similar services have given us an effective tool to discuss matters, whine about billing and service issues, and similar issues that pop up.

“The biggest change to any brand is the ability to engage on an intimate level with consumers. No longer are brands speaking at consumers, but rather they are building conversations around Facebook updates, Tweets, Blog posts, YouTube channels, etc.”

Even though it seems Web 2.0 has made things easier for PR companies, it has added additional layers of communication they must be able to deal with.

“I wouldn’t say it’s made anything easier, as social media is super progressive it is forcing us to reinvent communication strategies to stay fresh with consumers. We tend to step back from the granularity of media marketing and approach a media plan holistically – what the hell does that mean? We are most conscious of delivering a consistent message across all media touch points – a press release announcing new product, choosing the publication where advertisements are running, a simple tweet or FB post. This has all increased our reach quite a bit.”