I attended yesterday evening the seminar “The Role & Future of PR in Oman” organised by the International Public Relations Association (GC) and the PR agency TRACCS.
I was very much looking forward to this event as the industry has much to learn and improve. The seminar touched a few interesting areas such as how to raise the industry by moving away from media relations, educating the public, how to bring the next generations to the industry and, of course, social media; and this is where I’ve noticed that still some of these PR gurus have a long way ahead before understanding what social media is all about.
There were different opinions and thoughts, fair enough as that is the point of seminars, however was stroke my attention was that a couple of experts defined social media as a one-way communication tool...I honestly could not believe my ears.
But I want to move away from the seminar to discuss something else; before I do that I’d like to give credits to Hassan Al Saleh and his team at TRACCS for the event. There is need for more of these initiatives in Oman and I’m glad they’ve taken the lead. I really hope to see more of these events in the coming months. Good work guys.
What I’d like to highlight is something else; I do not blame companies for not using social media. Most companies, especially the big ones, rely on agencies for their internal and external communication needs so the agencies should be the ones advising companies about the different communication channels to best reach their audiences, right?
So how sociable are agencies in Oman? Are they joining the conversation? Are they "likeable"? I’ve done a quick research taking into consideration the big agencies both PR and advertising as they could/should both provide social media services; this table summarises the situation.
LOCAL WEBSITE | BLOG | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | OTHERS | |
| ADINC | YES | NO | NO | NO | NO |
| ASHA ADVERTISING | YES | NO | NO | NO | NO |
| BUZZWORD-ACTION | NO | NO | NO | NO | NO |
| CONCEPT | YES | NO | NO | NO | NO |
| DDB OMAN | YES | NO | NO | NO | NO |
| OXYGEN | YES | NO | NO | NO | NO |
| FORTUNE PROMOSEVEN | NO | NO | NO | NO | NO |
| TALKS | YES | NO | NO | NO | NO |
| TRACCS | NO | NO | NO | NO | NO |
| WUNDERMAN | NO | NO | NO | NO | NO |
| ZEENAH | NO | NO | NO | NO | NO |
Very poor outcome. So my questions is; how do we expect the industry to improve and move forward if the professionals are not up to date themselves? In order to advise a client shouldn't agencies too be on social media? As I know many colleagues read the blog i invite them all to express their opinions.
Very good article but you shouldn't have done it. Now the others will wake up...;)
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ReplyDeleteGreat article, however, to answer your question, and I'm no expert: remind the companies that if they don't make a web presence environmentalists and disgruntled workers will; if they haven't already. A company that isn't in control of their social image should ask itself: then who is? This is an arguing from consequences approach.
ReplyDeleteAre PR & Advertising agencies are the same here? No companies that do only on or the other?
ReplyDeletePR agencies not having web presence might not mean that they are not tech-savvy. Since their domain is primarily B2B they would want to maintain a discreet profile themselves, while advising their clients on how best to utilize the new social media platforms.
On another note, how much of an impact/reach does social media have in Oman? Is there any survey available on this?
@MC; some companies do PR, some advertising, and some do both. You made a valid point and I agree when you say that by not being social they’re not necessarily tech-savvy, however having seen the how some companies, especially B2C, are misusing or not using at all social media channels made me think. Personally I believe most agencies are still too traditional in their service offerings but I’m also sure most of them are silently exploring social media and very soon will be able to offer it to their clients. Also some of them might not be interested in provide such services which is fair enough.
ReplyDeleteThe bottom line is that people are on social media, they might be talking about you and you don’t even know if you don’t have your own platform. In that case how would you dismiss rumours, how would you get valuable feedback, how would you engage with your public? Let’s not forget that also agencies need their exposure and to establish and nurture relationships with their stakeholders.
Social media in Oman is getting bigger by the minute; online forums, Facebook, Twitter, blogs are all very popular. Just to give you an example; if I remember well Oman is the 6th fastest growing country on FB. If you’re looking for any specific info let me know and I’ll try to get it for you.
Great post! I really did not know that there were so many, the only one I have heard about (and I am in the industry!!!)is:
ReplyDelete-DDB (I accidently wondered into their office when I was looking for my insurance company's office)
-Traccs (I read their interview in Creme de la Creme and tried to contact them a few times with very poor outcome!)
-Talks (They have a very interesting looking building in Ghubra!)
To sum up, neither one of these has particularly become the talk of the town due to their presence on the web or social media...there is so much more that needs to be done!
Hey Olga, that's right, there's much more to be done. By the way; if you'll ever be in need again for a PR agency give us a try, we're not as big as the big boys but we rock!...;). Alternatively, if you're looking for an AD agency i can recommend a couple of very creative ones. Thanks for passing-by.
ReplyDelete:) Thanks for the suggestion. I will send you an email in a few minutes.
ReplyDeleteMy emails to Traccs have gone unanswered so hopefully you will show me some state-of-the-art interaction?
Thanks Olga, email received, reply should be already in your inbox. Have a good day!
ReplyDeleteI tried to push social media in big corporations in Oman, but their AD/PR agencies wouldn’t budge. They give wrong inputs to their clients saying social media is not good for them because they don’t know how the damn thing works. The agencies are busy updating corporate websites and stuff like always. For social media to work, we need new and fresh minds that are willing to experience and walk that extra mile.
ReplyDeleteHey Kishor, i was expecting your comment and as you know i agree with you. Funny you mentioned websites; i believe even websites have become out of date. People are tired of corporate websites and all their happy marketing speak, photos of smart looking men and women crowded around a PC raving about a product, the positive press release, happy customer testimonial etc. It's a one-sided type of communication which social media killed. You either have a high-tech website where people can be directly engaged or the website will only be seen as an online advert.
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