Calysto White Paper - Social Media and PR

Calysto is one of the PR firms I've been close to in this space since I began covering it in 2001. They've got a solid track record and do a great job updating us on the comings and goings of the industry through their client e-letter PR Vibes.

They just launched a white paper about the role social media can play in today's marketing and PR programs, and I wanted to help create some awareness about it. I reviewed this early on, and now it's a public document, which you can download from their website.

PR firms, especially indies, aren't known for their own thought leadership, and this is a pretty good example of an agency being proactive and sharing some best practices with the market. Social media is a huge unknown for everyone, and we all feel compelled to use it one way or another. PR firms and their clients all struggle with this, and nobody is ever quite sure about what tactics to use or how much to spend. However, PR firms are increasingly expected to know how to handle this space, and I'm sure it's one of the big questions companies have when hiring an agency.

So, it's great to see Calysto doing something about this and outlining their thinking on how social media can be incorporated into PR programs. Is this a pitch for business? Well, sure it is, and after reading this paper, you'll know exactly what kinds of programs and capabilities Calysto has to offer.

I'm ok with that, because I think most people will come away with some new ideas and answers to some basic questions they have about the value and impact social media can have on their business. A lot of you may be very immersed in social media, but I can guarantee you that a lot of people are not, and for that audience in particular, this white paper will serve a useful purpose.

Kudos to Laura Borgstede and her team, and I'm glad to see PR companies doing things like this. I know it's an important focus for Calysto, so hopefully this will be the beginning of something good that will help us all make sense of how social media and PR can best work together.