On February 18, Cara Good, Chief Executive Officer of WunderMarx PR, spoke with a group of almost 30 communication professionals about how companies are combining new media (blogging, podcasting, social networking, etc.) and old media (newsletters, press releases, etc.) to reach their strategic objectives.

As Good explained, new media is simply another tool that communicators can add to their toolbox. These technologies don’t replace the other communication tools we have come to rely on. Instead, communicators must learn when and how to integrate these new tools into their communication plans.

One key point Good made was that, in addition to creating a blog or social networking site, it’s important to monitor existing blogs that write about your company or products. Communicators must stay on top of what others are saying so they can respond quickly when necessary. One attendee cited an example where a blogger posted inaccurate information about one of their products. Because they were monitoring the blog, the company was able to quickly send that blogger accurate information and correct the post before it was picked up by other blogs and potentially other media outlets.

According to Good, social media allows communicators to establish a personal connection with employees or customers. Blogs, for instance, should be written in a personal tone as opposed to a more formal or “corporate” tone. As a general rule, Good says blog posts should be rather short and frequent — about 250 words per post with new posts added 2 to 3 times a week.

This is just a portion of what Good covered at the event. You can view her entire presentation here.

And you can learn more about WunderMarx and Cara Good using the following links:
www.wundermarx.com
Follow Cara Good on Twitter: twitter.com/remarx
Subscribe to Cara Good’s blog: caragood.com
Get LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/caragood