Memphis in all the big media headlines this week took our community by surprise reporting the historic flood of 2011 and showing the absolute worst pictures and images of a flood that has impacted just 1% of our City. Now I will say right here that this post is not meant to be insensitve to those who are affected. I am writing this from a public relations perspective and from my own personal observations and experience dealing with media and crisis management. I think we (our whole community) underestimated the power of the national media and their ability to portray things differently than they happened.
memphis
My Thoughts: ‘Trust agents’ can help Memphis ‘brand’
Memphis made history on the Internet this month, as one of the world’s most respected bloggers, best-selling author Chris Brogan, spoke for the first time in our river city.
As he spoke, the audience live-tweeted, blogged and broadcast the event over the Internet, showcasing Memphis to hundreds of thousands of listeners across the globe. You can search Twitter.com (type #BroganMemphis in the search box) and you will see the incredible information that was shared on how social media give us all a big voice.
Brogan, president of New Marketing Labs in the Boston area, left Memphis a fan of our great city, though he chided us on our need to put social media to greater use. He has already shared several posts about our city to his more than 136,000 followers on Twitter. Others in attendance at the event, as well as those who follow them in social media, brought #BroganMemphis to an audience of, literally, several hundred thousand.
After hearing Brogan speak, I participated in a roundtable discussion with some incredible people who flew into town from across the country, and even Canada, to be together and talk social media. These social media “power players” not only realize the importance of social media, but they are also using it to leverage, promote and protect their brand. Needless to say, my brain is in high gear, churning and thinking of better ways to help my clients and my community.