The PR & Social Media Summit


Today while at the PR and social media summit, I attended two very interesting sessions. The first was Hacking Public Relations by Phil Gomes, and the second was Non-Profit Social Media and Public Relations by Elle Krause Lyons and Leif Brostrom.

I thoroughly enjoyed Hacking Public Relations because it took a look at the internal workings of the internet, and the way it sifts through and sorts massive amounts of data. Phil Gomes (the speaker) began his presentation

Phil Gomes Speaks at PR Summit 8/7/14

by introducing the topic of “open sources”. An open source is a virtual forum in which people can contribute content (of all sorts) with little to no oversight and restriction. Common examples of an open source would be Wikipedia, Reddit, and Twitter.

Why is it important for the internet to have open sources? Open sources are a tool with witch the public can regulate internet content. This is especially applicable to people in PR because it gives them immediate access to people opinions. As a PR professional, it is your duty to create content that the general public deems worthy of their time. You have to create content that isn’t garbage. If your content is garbage, the web with circumvent it and find the next worth while link.


The second session I attended was about how the local PBS station in the twin cities run their Public Relations and Social Media departments. Elle Krause Lyon spoke about the changing landscape of PR in a world that over values quick, virtual communication methods, and undervalues human connection and reciprocity. Krause-Lyon began talking about the press release. The typed press release (a once vital method of communication) has come under fire in recent years for being inefficient. Elle Krause Lyon suggests that people who work in the industry should begin digitizing their press releases,s well as personalizing them. They don’t always have to be written. Krause-Lyon suggests that by meeting with journalists face to face, one can share all the necessary information as well as cultivate a potentially valuable relationship.

The second speaker, Leif Brostrom, talked about the initiatives he has instituted, with the help of his social media team, with the intention of increasing PBS’s reach. He spoke about Rewire (PBS Twin Cities content for younger people) and their outreach initiatives. Rewire is generating content ideas using crowd sourcing. Bronstrom talked most passionately about making goals when using social media. It is important to:

  1. Earn loyalty/trust from ones followers
  2. Share content
  3. Interact consistently

with ones audience. He said he does this by making sure he posts consistently on all forms of social media (3–4 times a day on Facebook and Twitter, at least once a day on Instagram. and Linkedin) Often he has a hard time thinking of something to tweet, but he feels it is important to keep a dialogue going so he post a cat photo because they are so popular and keep people engaged.

I really enjoyed the summit and wish I had been able to attend the Reddit talk. I ate at least 10 of those blue berry pastries and spent a majority of the 2:00–2:50 talk holding down barf, a skill I feel will come in handy in my professional career.