VCU Mass Comm Week

Zappos, Twitter, Dig. These might sound like futuristic gadgets or new slang, but in fact they that represent the new generation of communication among individuals. These inventions are simply referred to as "social media".

Geoff Livingston, CEO of Livingston Communications, gave a speech Thursday to 65 students on the impact of social media on the public relations field. It was one of many panels held as part of Mass Communications week at VCU.

Throughout the speech the social media guru said businesses should use these new media as part of their marketing strategy to get feedback from the consumers.

Livingston pointed out the consequences of major corporations underestimating the advantages of mediums where customers can talk about their individual experiences with the product.

" That’s what social media is all about, it’s about conversation," Livingston said.

He showed the incredible sway of social media to customers by first fielding a question about the problems of a certain brand of computers. He then said that if any one of the students were to go on Blogger and post a complaint about the brand, the company’s main office would contact them personally within 24 hours.

Livingston said one of the main reasons for the recent flood of people toward social media is the loss of faith toward the traditional media. He said that the media have lost it's factual basis with viewers because it has been proven that when "messaging" is involved, there is usually bias involved. With social media tools consumers can, most of the time, get unbias points of view towards an idea or product.

"People trust third parties more than organizations," he Said.

Throughout the speech the social media CEO gave several examples of where the embracing or neglecting of social media and its users can help or severely hurt a large company.

One of these instances included the complaint of an individual toward a Target ad showing a girl laying spread eagle on a target bulls eye. When the individual complained to the company, she got a response claiming that Target would not acknowledge her because she did not represent a certified organization. when the story made the front page of the New York Times, the company quickly stated that they were looking to change their policies to acknowledge those who are not necessarily in the business world.

Livingston also said that social media tools such as Facebook are helping businesses decide whom they hire . He expressed that he has denied people jobs to his company because of what he observed on their Facebook accounts.

Unacceptable pictures or violent rants are a cause for a company to refuse to hire a person, and he told the audience to "clean up their Facebook" before applying to any job.

Assisstant Professor Soo Yeo Hong, who has never signed on to any social media network, said that she was inspired after the panel to get a Facebook or other social media account to keep on track with today’s ever changing communications methods.

At the end of the Speech Geoff Livingston passed out free copies of his book "Now is Gone" to students in attendance.