Twitter, Facebook and other social networks are more than just gossip sites, the dissemination of news following the Iran elections shows their full power.

The Iranian government may have succeeded in having tight control of the information reaching most news media, but information has been spreading on Twitter (type in #Iran election into the search box for latest updates). Whether this is always accurate highlights one problem with such news, in that not all sources can be proved to be reliable.

When Michael Jackson died, again the power of social networking came to the fore. First the story was reported on US celebrity gossip site TMZ, and then online conversations began about it hours before the death was announced on traditional news programmes such as on the BBC, which had to make rigorous checks about the validity of the story before it could be broken.

Heard it through the grapevine

How the news spread of Michael Jackson’s death at music festival Glastonbury illustrates how gossip sites work in conjunction with face-to-face gossip. Vanessa Collu, onboard sales senior sales executive at the BBC, describes how she first heard the news at the festival: “On Thursday night at Glastonbury we started hearing people shouting ‘Michael Jackson is dead’ around the site, and then became aware that various stalls were playing his songs. The news gradually spread around the festival by word of mouth from people who were checking their Twitter and Facebook accounts, so social media played a major part in ensuring the news was quickly shared around.”

There is no doubt that social media are changing the way that people access news, and James Poulter, digital strategist at Ogilvy PR, goes on to say that social media is the most important development for the PR industry since the invention of newswire services. Poulter says that social networks are being integrated into everything he does, from using Twitter for media relations, keeping clients in the loop via wikis and blogs, to creating full-service digital campaigns of a global scope. He adds: “We are not only witnessing an evolution or upgrade of the internet but a revolution in how people engage with media and communicate with one another."

The way that social media allow interaction with audiences means that the days of talking ‘at’ people are long gone. Mark Mellor, managing director at communications consultancy Firefly, says he wouldn't dream of launching a client's new service or product without engaging the relevant blog communities and forums, or holding an event without drawing attention to it via blogs and tweets. Mellor says the current main social networking applications are Facebook and Twitter and discusses how such networks mean everything is live and immediate. He adds, “there are no deadlines anymore, no embargoes, information is instant. This can be good and bad. In raw terms, it means we're more in tune with audiences, events and issues than ever before, but on the other hand it means we're always on."

I did it my way

As well as being used by people to find out information that is not yet be being widely reported, publicists can use social networks to communicate what they want, when they want, without having to be translated by journalists in ways they do not like. Nikki Alvey, independent public relations consultant, argues that social networks aren‘t just a way of bypassing journalists however, as they help to build relationships with them too. She says, “In addition to the usual PR tactics such as pitching bylines, checking forward features lists for relevant opportunities, I can take a more proactive approach and actively seek out and track journalists – what they’re writing about, recently published works and to check out what’s going on in their lives. It enables me to get much closer to them and deliver what they need which I think results in a more positive relationship all round.”

For celebrities, the evolution of social networks has been a godsend. Ross Furlong, founder of digital PR agency Furlong PR, says that in for those in the spotlight, Twitter has become the super-fast way for some to communicate with their fan base. Furlong says that this is good news for them as they have regained control of their public image. He adds: “Rather than listen to idle speculation, you hear it from the horse’s mouth. Some personalities are particularly well suited to it. Andy Murray, dour on TV and rightly suspicious of TV interviewers, comes across far better on Twitter and on his blog.”

Me, me, me

Furlong’s believes that for PR professionals with celebrity clients, Twitter is a must, although he cautions: “You should probably insist that the celebrity consults with you over exact content as there’s as much potential for unintentional career suicide via Twitter as there is with any other channel. This needs to be balanced with an approach that is personal enough to be engaging. An over-sanitised approach will not be effective.”

When using Twitter for corporate PR, Furlong points out that companies had better make sure they have something good to say: “Anything less than daily content is not going to be very impactful, and therefore using Twitter asks serious questions about your website/blog content – as that is where you want your targets to go most of the time.”

Just creating a Facebook page, or writing tweets, does not mean you have nailed social networking. Marcus Childs, partner at experiential agency Amplify, says the that the most powerful way to use social media is to get others to do the talking for you: “A message from your peers is far stronger than coming directly from the brand. So, identify the individuals with the most influence and reach amongst your target audience, forge a relationship and let them do the talking, while accepting that not everything will be positive.” Childs says is that it is worth considering how to use the fact that most status updates involve some sort of showing off, or as he calls it, “Facebook Envy'“. He explains: “Our greatest successes with brand social media campaigns have come from the simple premise of making the individual look good, they will work far harder for you if the end result is that their standing is being raised amongst their peers".