The art of PR is to keep the conversation real by Joe Vangieri

Social Media is conversation. The art of PR is to keep the conversation real, and at the same time maintain the position of the client.

Conversation is interactive, more-or-less spontaneous, communication between two or more conversants. Interactivity occurs because contributions to a conversation are response reactions to what has previously been said.

Spontaneity occurs because a conversation must proceed, to some extent, and in some way, unpredictably. (Contrast with a scripted conversation, which falls outside this definition.) (However, the scope of that spontaneity may legitimately be somewhat pre-limited for the purpose of expediency, e.g. a blog post or a Twitter response.)

Conversations are sometimes the ideal form of communication, depending on the conversants' intended ends. There are competitors out there trying to spoil your message. This is done through a series of undermining your position over time from a "REAL" conversant. This is why you must maintain a real presence in conversation across Social Media for your brand.

Conversations may be ideal when, for example, each party desires a relatively equal exchange of information, or when one party desires to question the other.

For a successful conversation, the partners must achieve a workable balance of contributions. A successful conversation includes mutually interesting connections between the speakers or things that the speakers know. For this to happen, those engaging in conversation must find a topic matter relevant to the BRANDS position and on which they both can relate in some sense.

The Social Conversation: